Regions: south

The lichen of the spice box — not planted, but a reason to keep old trees standing.

Camphor basil — a big grey-green bush that fills a terrace with scent.

The same trick as turmeric, in slightly more shade and slightly less time.

A curcuma that smells of raw mango — the pickle rhizome of the east.

A slender twiner of scrub and hedges, with fragrant roots and small dark flowers.

A slow, tough native tree for a hot courtyard, with fruit that makes the summer sherbet.

An unfussy evergreen shrub with white throated flowers that carpenter bees work.

A low monsoon weed of wet ground, gathered for hair oil for as long as anyone remembers.

A woody climber of the dry deccan, slow but very long-lived on a trellis.

A dry-country shrub with yellow flowers, tough enough for a Rajasthan roof.