Regions: North-East India

Black cardamom of Sikkim — deep shade under alder, at hill altitudes.

The ghost chilli of Nagaland — a genuine regional speciality, and ferocious.

Yongchak — long flat pods eaten across Manipur and Nagaland.

Sesame-like seeds used across the eastern Himalaya in chutney and oil.

A scrambling hill plant whose root gives a lasting red dye.

Reetha — the washing fruit of the sub-Himalayan tract, from a good shade tree.

East Indian lemongrass, distilled in the north-east for citral oil.

The silver-plumed grass of autumn riverbanks — Durga Puja in plant form.

Fishtail palm of the Ghats and the north-east, tapped for sap and sago.

The cane of eastern furniture — a spiny climbing palm of wet forest.