Regions: South India

A long-season crop that rewards a big pot and steady feeding.

A riverbank giant with pale bark — a tree for a campus or a colony park, not a pot.

Feathery-leaved and drought-hardy; one grafted tree feeds a household through winter.

The third triphala fruit, from a broad-crowned tree of dry deciduous forest.

A monsoon-flowering lily of the western hills, grown for its white tuber cluster.

Near-indestructible succulent for a bright sill; water only when the soil is dry through.

A prickly low solanum of wasteland, with violet flowers bumblebees buzz-pollinate.

A tiny monsoon herb that appears in every wet pot, with fruit strung under the leaf.

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.