Plants of Puducherry

अजवाइन पत्ता अजवाइन पत्ता Plectranthus amboinicus Thick scented leaves on a succulent stem; one plant fills a windowsill pot for years. अमलतास अमलतास Cassia fistula Yellow chandeliers in May, when the city most needs something to look at. चौलाई चौलाई Amaranthus tricolor The monsoon green that grows itself — heat-proof, rain-proof, ready in a month. आमला आमला Phyllanthus emblica Feathery-leaved and drought-hardy; one grafted tree feeds a household through winter. मोगरा मोगरा Jasminum sambac A pot by an open window does more for a summer evening than any air freshener. सुपारी सुपारी Areca catechu Slim palm of the wet south-west and north-east, grown in dense stands. सुपारी सुपारी Areca catechu The slender betel-nut palm of the wet coasts, grown in dense shaded gardens. अर्जुन अर्जुन Terminalia arjuna A riverbank giant with pale bark — a campus or park tree, not a pot. अर्जुन अर्जुन Terminalia arjuna A riverbank giant with pale bark — a tree for a campus or a colony park, not a… पेठा पेठा Benincasa hispida The big white-waxed gourd of the south, stored for months after harvest. अशोक अशोक Saraca asoca Orange flower clusters straight off the trunk — a sacred tree, now threatened. सीता अशोक सीता अशोक Saraca asoca The true ashoka — orange flower clusters on a small shade-loving tree of wet forest. अश्वगंधा अश्वगंधा Withania somnifera Drought-tolerant root herb for a hot sunny corner; needs almost nothing once established. चाय चाय Camellia sinensis var. assamica The tea of the Brahmaputra valley — one bush on a balcony is enough for a pot. बबूल बबूल Vachellia nilotica Thorny, nitrogen-fixing and useful on land nobody else will plant. बेल बेल Aegle marmelos A slow, tough native tree for a hot courtyard, with fruit that makes the summer sherbet. बहेड़ा बहेड़ा Terminalia bellirica The third triphala fruit, from a broad-crowned tree of dry deciduous forest. गुलमेहंदी गुलमेहंदी Impatiens balsamina A monsoon annual of verandah pots, with seed pods children cannot leave alone. बांस बांस Bambusa balcooa The fastest usable material on earth; one clump supplies poles for years. केला केला Musa acuminata A single sucker in a corner gives shade, cooking leaves and, in time, fruit. कबान बांस कबान बांस Dendrocalamus strictus The dry-country bamboo of central India, solid-stemmed and drought-hardy. बरगद बरगद Ficus benghalensis The tree that becomes a grove; only for parks, campuses and village greens. कटसरैया कटसरैया Barleria prionitis A spiny yellow-flowered shrub of dry scrub, unbothered by heat or thin soil. बेर बेर Ziziphus mauritiana The fruit of the dry west, cropping where irrigation is impossible. पान पान Piper betle The paan vine — grown in shaded enclosures across Bengal and the east. भृंगराज भृंगराज Eclipta prostrata A low monsoon weed of wet ground, gathered for hair oil for as long as anyone remembers. भूमि आमला भूमि आमला Phyllanthus niruri A tiny monsoon herb that appears in every wet pot, with fruit strung under the leaf. बिलिम्बी बिलिम्बी Averrhoa bilimbi Sour fruit straight off the trunk, in constant supply on the wet coasts. पक्षी घोंसला फर्न पक्षी घोंसला फर्न Asplenium nidus A rosette epiphyte that grows on a tree fork or a shaded wall bracket. करेला करेला Momordica charantia A tough climber that fruits through the worst humidity of the year. उड़द उड़द Vigna mungo A short monsoon pulse, sown between crops as much as for the dal. काली मिर्च काली मिर्च Piper nigrum The vine that made the Malabar coast; needs a tree to climb and constant humidity. काली मिर्च काली मिर्च Piper nigrum The vine that made the Malabar coast; needs a tree to climb and constant humidity. चील चील Callistemon citrinus Red brushes of stamens on drooping branches; a hardy naturalised garden tree. लौकी लौकी Lagenaria siceraria A monsoon climber that will roof a terrace in eight weeks given a frame. बोगनवेलिया बोगनवेलिया Bougainvillea glabra Thrives on being ignored — the more you neglect it, the harder it flowers. ब्राह्मी ब्राह्मी Bacopa monnieri A creeping marsh herb happy in a wide bowl of wet soil — the one plant you cannot… सीमा कटहल सीमा कटहल Artocarpus altilis Big lobed leaves and starchy fruit; a coastal tree of Kerala and the islands. बैंगन बैंगन Solanum melongena A long-season crop that rewards a big pot and steady feeding. इलायची इलायची Elettaria cardamomum Green cardamom of the Western Ghats — deep shade, cool air and steady rain. काजू काजू Anacardium occidentale A coastal tree that fruits on poor laterite where almost nothing else does. सरू सरू Casuarina equisetifolia The coastal shelterbelt tree of the east and south — fast and salt-proof. पुन्नाग पुन्नाग Mesua thwaitesii A tall wet-evergreen tree of the southern Ghats, red-flushed in new leaf. चमेली चमेली Jasminum grandiflorum The Spanish jasmine of the perfume trade, grown widely in the north and west. चम्पा चम्पा Plumeria rubra Grows from a bare cutting pushed into dry soil; scents a whole terrace. चम्पा चम्पा Magnolia champaca Orange-yellow flowers whose scent carries across a whole garden at dusk. गुड़हल गुड़हल Hibiscus rosa-sinensis Flowers nearly all year in a warm city, and sunbirds find it within a week. इस्कुस इस्कुस Sechium edule The squash that covers a whole roof in one season across the eastern hills.