Regions: south

A thorny southern climber whose pods have washed hair for centuries.

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

A creeping pepper of the eastern and southern forests, with catkin-like spikes.

The paan vine — grown in shaded enclosures across Bengal and the east.

The gongura of Andhra kitchens — sour leaves and later, calyces for sherbet.

Desi cotton — the indigenous species, hardier than the imported kinds.

The dye plant of history, nitrogen-fixing and undemanding.

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

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

The vine that made the Malabar coast; needs a tree to climb and constant humidity.