Regions: South India

The true ashoka — orange flower clusters on a small shade-loving tree of wet forest.

The narrow green column planted along every Indian driveway and boundary wall.

An enormous umbrella crown of ferny leaves that folds shut before rain.

The tea of the Brahmaputra valley — one bush on a balcony is enough for a pot.

Malabar tamarind — the sour rind of Konkan and Kerala cooking.

A wild relative of the curry leaf from peninsular scrub forest.

A big orange-flowered climber of central forest, dramatic on a strong pergola.

Sweet basil — indigenous cultivation across India long before its pizza career.

Grown for the seed that swells in falooda and summer sherbets.

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