Regions: West India

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.

The wild date of the plains, tapped for gur and fruiting freely.

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

A thorny southern climber whose pods have washed hair for centuries.

A few canes in a corner give juice, gur and a green screen by October.

Cut-and-carry fodder that regrows every forty days for years.

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

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

The vine that made the Malabar coast; needs a tree to climb and constant humidity.