Flora of Indian Subcontinent

Black pepper (Piper nigrum) is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit (the peppercorn), which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about 5 mm (1⁄4 in) in diameter (fresh and fully mature), dark red, and contains a stone which encloses a single pepper seed. Peppercorns and the ground pepper derived from them may be described simply as pepper, or more precisely as black pepper (cooked and dried unripe fruit), green pepper (dried unripe fruit), or white pepper (ripe fruit seeds). Black pepper is native to

Turmeric, or Curcuma longa, is a flowering plant in the ginger family Zingiberaceae. It is a perennial, rhizomatous, herbaceous plant native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia that requires temperatures between 20 and 30 °C (68 and 86 °F) and high annual rainfall to thrive. Plants are gathered each year for their rhizomes, some for propagation in the following season and some for consumption or dyeing. The rhizomes can be used fresh, but they are often boiled in water and dried, after which they are ground into a deep orange-yellow shelf-stable spice powder commonly used as a

Elettaria cardamomum, commonly known as green cardamom or true cardamom, is a herbaceous, perennial plant in the ginger family, native to southern India. It is the most common of the species whose seeds are used as a spice called cardamom that has a strong aroma used in both savory and sweet cooking. It is cultivated widely in tropical regions and reportedly naturalized in Réunion, Indochina, and Costa Rica.

Cinnamomum verum (synonym Cinnamomum zeylanicum), also called true cinnamon or Ceylon cinnamon is a small evergreen tree belonging to the family Lauraceae, native to Sri Lanka. The inner bark of the tree is historically regarded as the spice cinnamon, though this term was later generalized to include C. cassia as well.

Pterocarpus santalinus, with the common names red sanders, red saunders, Yerra Chandanam, Chenchandanam, red sandalwood, Rakta Chandana, and rakto chandon, is a species of Pterocarpus endemic to the southern Eastern Ghats mountain range of South India. This tree is valued for the rich red colour of its wood, and in recent years there has been a marked uptick in the use of red sandalwood as a component of incense, especially in the west. The tree is not to be confused with the aromatic Santalum sandalwood trees that grow natively in Southern India.

Garcinia indica, a plant in the mangosteen family (Clusiaceae), commonly known as kokum, is a fruit-bearing tree that has culinary, pharmaceutical, and industrial uses. It grows primarily in India's Western Ghats: in the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala. It is considered as an endemic species to the Western Ghats and forests in India.

Garcinia gummi-gutta is a tropical species of Garcinia native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. Common names include Garcinia cambogia (a former scientific name), as well as brindle berry, and Malabar tamarind. The fruit looks like a small pumpkin and is green to pale yellow in color. Although it has received considerable media attention purporting its effects on weight loss, there are reports of liver toxicity associated with the Hydroxycut commercial preparation containing the fruit extract, with clinical evidence indicating it has no significant effect on weight loss.

Cupressus cashmeriana, the Bhutan cypress or Kashmir cypress, is a species of evergreen conifer native to the eastern Himalaya in Bhutan and adjacent areas of Arunachal Pradesh in northeastern India. [ Now in vulnerable category, IUCN list retrieved in 2006 ]. It is also introduced in China and Nepal. It grows at moderately high altitudes of 1,250–2,800 metres (4,100–9,190 ft).

Cycas circinalis, also known as the queen sago, is a species of cycad known in the wild only from southern India. Cycas circinalis is the only gymnosperm species found among native Sri Lankan flora.

Wrightia antidysenterica, the coral swirl or tellicherry bark, is a flowering plant in the genus Wrightia. Wrightia antidysenterica is sometimes confused with the species Holarrhena pubescens due to a second, taxonomically invalid publication of the name Holarrhena pubescens. It is known in Sanskrit as kuṭaja or ambikā.

Vateria indica, the white dammar, is a species of tree in the family Dipterocarpaceae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats mountains in India. It is threatened by habitat loss. It is a large canopy or emergent tree frequent in tropical wet evergreen forests of the low and mid-elevations (below 1200 m).

Dovyalis hebecarpa, with common names Ceylon gooseberry, ketembilla, and kitambilla, is a plant in the genus Dovyalis, native to Sri Lanka and southern India. The fruit are often eaten fresh, or made into jam. Some cultivars have been selected for being thornless (making harvesting easier) and for larger fruit. The tropical apricot, or ketcot, is a hybrid between D. hebecarpa and D. abyssinica that was developed in Florida in 1953 and is also cultivated for its fruit.

Nepenthes khasiana (; after the Khasi Hills, to which it is largely endemic) is an endangered tropical pitcher plant of the genus Nepenthes. It is the only Nepenthes species native to India. It is thought to attract prey by means of blue fluorescence.

Curcuma xanthorrhiza, known as temulawak, Java ginger, Javanese ginger, or Javanese turmeric is a plant species, belonging to the ginger family. It is known in Javanese as temulawak, in Sundanese as koneng gede (large turmeric) and in Madurese as temu labak. The scientific name is sometimes written as Curcuma xanthorrhiza, but this is an orthographical variant. This plant originated from Indonesia, more specifically from Java island, out of which it spread to several places in the biogeographical region Malesia. Currently, most of the temu lawak is cultivated in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand,

Euphorbia lactea is a species of spurge native to arid and subtropical regions of South Asia, mainly the Indian Subcontinent. Common names include mottled spurge, frilled fan, elkhorn, candelabra spurge, candelabrum tree, candelabra cactus, candelabra plant, dragon bones, false cactus, hatrack cactus, milkstripe euphorbia, mottled candlestick.

Citrus indica is a species of hybrid Citrus known by the common name Indian wild orange. It is native to South Asia.

Artemisia pallens is an aromatic herb, in genus of small herbs or shrubs, xerophytic in nature. Commonly known as dhavanam from the Sanskrit name दमनक (damanaka), (Tamil: மரிக்கொழுந்து, தவணம், Marathi: दवणा, Kannada: ದವನ). The flowers are racemose panicles, bear numerous small yellow flower heads or capitula, but the silvery white silky covering of down gives the foliage a grey or white appearance. Dhavanam has alternate pinnasect leaves (leaf which is divided into opposite pairs of lobes cut almost to the midrib In narrow divisions) or palmatisect leaves (the green tissue is divided into

Thunbergia mysorensis, the Mysore trumpetvine or lady's slipper vine, is a species of flowering plant in the family Acanthaceae. A woody-stemmed evergreen, this vine is native to southern tropical India. The specific epithet mysorensis is derived from the city of Mysore.

Nepenthes distillatoria (; Neo-Latin, from Latin: destillo "to distill", -oria, adjectival ending; "something from which a liquid is distilled", i.e., pitcher) is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Sri Lanka. It was the second Nepenthes species to be described in print and the first to be formally named under the Linnaean system of taxonomy. It is therefore the type species of the genus.

Gardenia gummifera is a species of plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is endemic to India.

Cycas beddomei is a species of cycad in the genus Cycas, native to India, where it is confined to a small area of Andhra Pradesh state in the Tirumala Hills in scrubland and brush covered hills. Superficially similar to Cycas revoluta, it has erect, solitary stems. There are 20–30 leaves in the crown, each leaf 90 cm long, stiff, lanceolate, pinnate, with 50–100 pairs of leaflets, these 10–17.5 cm long and 3–4 mm wide, and angled forward at 45 degrees; the leaf petiole bears minute spines. The female cones are open, with sporophylls 15–20 cm long, with pink-brown coloured tomentose down, with

Arenga wightii is a species of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae. It is native to the Southern Western Ghats in Kerala in India. This palm has various uses in its communities. Local tribal communities depend on this plant for starch (food supplement) and religious ceremonies. It is also used to cover the roofs of houses due to its string resemblance to coconut leaves. Scientists have discovered that this palm has medicinal value. It is said to have antimicrobial and antioxidant phytochemicals. It is threatened by habitat loss and logging.

Adrorhizon purpurascens is a species of orchid (family Orchidaceae). It is the only species in the genus Adrorhizon and one of three genera in the subtribe Adrorhizinae. The genus is native to southern India and Sri Lanka.

Syzygium densiflorum is a species of evergreen tree in the family Myrtaceae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats mountains, India. The species is categorised as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List.

Strobilanthes kunthiana, known as Kurinji or Neelakurinji in Tamil language and Malayalam and Gurige in Kannada, is a shrub of the bear's breeches family (Acanthaceae) that is found in the shola forests of the Western Ghats in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The purplish blue flower blossoms only once in 12 years, and gave the Nilgiri Mountains range its name as nil (blue) + giri (mountains). Of all long interval bloomers (or plietesials) Strobilanthes kunthiana is the most rigorously demonstrated, with documented bloomings in 1838, 1850, 1862, 1874, 1886, 1898, 1910, 1922, 1934, 1946,

Paphiopedilum druryi is a species of orchid endemic to the Agastyamalai Hills of southern India. It is the only southern Indian orchid species in the genus. Rediscovered in 1972 after its original description in 1870, wild populations were decimated by commercial collectors and it is one of the few plants that are listed as threatened by the Indian government and included in CITES and the IUCN Redlist. The species was described by Colonel Richard Henry Beddome in 1870 and named after the collector of the first specimens, Colonel Heber Drury (1819-1905), an amateur botanist who worked in

Mangifera acutigemma is a species of plant in the family Anacardiaceae. It is endemic to Sikkim in India.

Hubbardia is a genus in the grass family that is endemic to India. It is the only genus in the tribe Hubbardieae of the subfamily Micrairoideae.

Ensete superbum is a species of banana from India.

Canarium zeylanicum is a species of flowering plant in the frankincense family, Burseraceae, that is endemic to Sri Lanka. Canarium zeylanicum is a large branched tree that can grow up to 25–30m in height. The seeds of this plant are large, oval, and they can be eaten. This plant can be seen with fruits and flowers in the months of April to September. The oil of the seeds of Canarium zeylanicum are edible and this oil has been used by Sri Lankans for medicinal purposes and for food for ages. However, these uses of the plant are confined to its rural population and even then, they mostly use