Seasons: Monsoon

The kodo of the Deccan and central hills — drought-proof and long-storing.

A short-season millet of the northern hills, sown when the season has been lost.

A rosette epiphyte that grows on a tree fork or a shaded wall bracket.

A white-backed fern that colonises damp walls and cut slopes on its own.

Fan-shaped leaflets on black wiry stalks — the fern of a shaded bathroom window.

The kopou phul of Assam — hanging foxtail sprays, and the flower of Bihu.

The blue vanda of Meghalaya — tessellated flowers, and protected in the wild.

The shrub that turns the Nilgiri slopes blue once every twelve years, then dies.

The tree bean of Manipur — long flat pods with a pungent unmistakable smell.

Flame-red reflexed petals on a climbing lily — the state flower of Tamil Nadu.