Regions: West India

A tough climber that fruits through the worst humidity of the year.

Palmarosa — a scented grass of the central hills, distilled for its rose-like oil.

Cut-and-come-again greens ready in six weeks from a shallow trough.

Sow thickly in a wide tray and cut the whole crop at three weeks.

The monsoon green that grows itself — heat-proof, rain-proof, ready in a month.

The winter weed worth sowing — mineral-rich leaves through the cold months.

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

The street tree of the plains; even a potted seedling supplies leaves for a pest spray.

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

A white-rooted asparagus of the north-western hills, grown on terraces and bunds.