Regions: West India

Twisted screw-shaped pods on a scrub shrub of the dry deciduous forest.

Sticky green fruit for the Rajasthani pickle jar, on a tough small tree.

The thorny bush that holds the Thar together, browsed by everything and killed by nothing.

The desert teak — orange trumpets on bare wood in March, on a tree that needs no water.

A leafless broom-like desert shrub that fixes sand and feeds camels.

Pink or white flowers all year on a shrub that survives the worst urban roadside.

Red brushes of stamens on drooping branches; a hardy naturalised garden tree.

Yellow flower spires and copper seed pods; the summer partner to the gulmohar.

A slender Western Ghats evergreen with purple fruit that souring curries depend on.

A tough dry-forest tree with papery winged seeds that blanket the ground in March.