Seasons: Monsoon

A fibre hibiscus of eastern India, quick and very tall.

Desi cotton — the indigenous species, hardier than the imported kinds.

The dye plant of history, nitrogen-fixing and undemanding.

Red February cups feeding every bird in the neighbourhood at once.

A sub-Himalayan tree giving edible fat and enormous quantities of nectar.

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

Green cardamom of the Western Ghats — deep shade, cool air and steady rain.

The timber tree of the north Indian plain, nitrogen-fixing and fast.

The tree of the Thar — Rajasthan’s state tree, feeding people and stock in drought.

Thorny, nitrogen-fixing and useful on land nobody else will plant.