Regions: South India

The pioneer mangrove of Indian coasts, first to colonise new mud.

A stilt-rooted coastal pandan that holds sand against the sea.

The coastal shelterbelt tree of the east and south — fast and salt-proof.

Tamil Nadu’s state tree — sap, fruit, leaf and timber from one palm.

Fishtail palm of the Ghats and the north-east, tapped for sap and sago.

The cane of eastern furniture — a spiny climbing palm of wet forest.

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

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.

East Indian lemongrass, distilled in the north-east for citral oil.