Regions: north

The mehndi hedge of the dry west — scented flowers and dye leaves.

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

Khus — a grass whose roots hold a slope together and scent a summer room.

The dry-country bamboo of central India, solid-stemmed and drought-hardy.

Red February cups feeding every bird in the neighbourhood at once.

A sub-Himalayan tree giving edible fat and enormous quantities of nectar.

The nut tree of Kashmir and the western hills, needing real winter cold.

Ladakh and Himachal fruit — blossom in March, fruit in June, dried for winter.

The Himalayan cedar — a slow, magnificent, cold-climate conifer.

Sacred, enormous and the most valuable bird tree in any Indian city.