Seasons: Monsoon

Two spices from one fruit — nutmeg and mace — on the wettest coasts.

Coppiced for its inner bark; the leaf is a spice in its own right.

The tejpatta of north Indian cooking — a hill tree, not the Mediterranean bay.

A creeping pepper of the eastern and southern forests, with catkin-like spikes.

The paan vine — grown in shaded enclosures across Bengal and the east.

The gongura of Andhra kitchens — sour leaves and later, calyces for sherbet.

Grown for fibre and calyces in the west and centre; a striking tall annual.

A riverbank giant with pale bark — a campus or park tree, not a pot.

The biggest citrus, tolerant of humidity and common in eastern gardens.

Host tree of the lac insect, with brilliant red leaf flush in spring.