Perennial herb, leafy stem up to 1.2 m tall. From autumn until spring it goes dormant above ground as the leafy stems shrivel and die away, leaving the pale brown rhizomes at ground level. In the spring, the plant springs up anew. 10-12 blade-shaped leaves, 15-20 cm long, alternate. Among the leafy stems, the conical flower heads burst forth on separate and shorter stalks. These appear in the summer, after the stem has been growing for a while. The flower heads are initially green, 3-10 cm, with overlapping scales, enclosing small yellowish-white flowers that poke out a few at a time. As the flower heads mature, they gradually fill with an aromatic, slimy liquid and turn a brighter red color.

Native to tropical Asia and Australasia but can be found in many tropical countries. The earliest evidence of its cultivation is from the Austronesian people who carried it with them during the Austronesian expansion (ca. 5000 BP) as canoe plants, reaching as far as Remote Oceania.

The essential oil in the rhizome contains zerumbone, which has spasmolytic and bacteriostatic properties.

The rhizomes of Shampoo ginger have been used as food flavoring and appetizers in various cuisines while the rhizome extracts have been used in herbal medicine. Perhaps the most common use of the plant is as a shampoo and conditioner. The clear fragrant juice present in the mature flower heads that resemble red pinecones is used for softening and bringing shininess to the hair. It can be left in the hair or rinsed out and can also be used as a massage lubricant.

Perennial, tropical plant. Primarily grown as a root vegetable for its edible, starchy corm. Leaves up to 40×35 cm and sprout from the rhizome, dark green above and light green beneath, highly water-repellent. Taro is one of few crops (along with rice and lotus) that can be grown under flooded conditions.

Native to Southern India and Southeast Asia but is widely naturalized in tropical and subtropical regions around the world. Taro corms are a food staple in African, Oceanic and South Asian cultures.

The plant is used to treat wounds.

Taro is believed to have been one of the earliest cultivated plants.

Medium-sized tree, 10-20 m tall, with fast growth. Leaves deciduous, 15-60 cm long, pinnate. Flowers yellow. Fruit is a legume, 30-60 cm ling. Wood very strong and durable, has been used to construct “Ehela Kanuwa”, a site at Adams Peak in Sri Lanka.

Native to the Indian subcontinent and adjacent regions in Southeast Asia. It is a popular ornamental tree and widely grown in tropical and subtropical areas around the world.

It is both the national tree and national flower of Thailand.

Evergreen shrub, up to 2 m tall. Dichotomously branched. Stem excludes a milky latex when broken. Leaves large, shony, deep green, 15 cm long, 5 cm wide. Flowers white, waxy, in small clusters on the stem tips. The flowers have the characteristic “pinwheel” shape also seen in other genera in the family Apocynaceae. The leaves of this plant are eaten by the caterpillars of the oleander hawk-moth (Daphnis nerii).

Native to India and now cultivated throughout Southeast Asia, the warmer regions of continental Asia and Pacific Islands. In some areas, it is even grown as a house plant for its attractive flowers and foliage.

No known.

The plant contains several alkaloids and is toxic and medicinal (like many other plants in the family Apocynaceae).

Large coastal shrub or small tree, less then 5 m tall. Stem covered by soft hairs. Leaves opposite, compound (composed of 3 linear leaflets which range between 1-12 cm in length). Upper surface of the leaves is green, lower surface grayish green. Flowers born in clusters up to 18 cm in length. Individual flowers purple to violet, two-lipped, approx. 5 mm long.

Native along coastlines from tropical East Africa as far east as French Polynesia.

Simpleleaf chastetree is related (same family) to many herbs like basil, rosemary, mint etc.

Evergreen perennial, up to 1 m tall, forming colonies of stalks with lance-shaped leaves (15-30 cm long, 2 cm wide), opposite. Flowers trumpet-shaped, metallic blue to purple, with five petals.

Native to Mexico, the Caribbean and South America. Grown around the world as an ornamental. It has become a widespread invasive plant in Florida, where it was introduced as an ornamental.

No known.

The risk of introduction of Mexican Ruellia is very high. Even though this species has been listed as invasive in many areas of the world, it is still widely commercialized as an ornamental.

Shrub, up to 4 m tall. Typical of littoral zones where it grows very close to the sea exposed to the salt spray, usually on sandy soil. Leaves slightly succulent, about 20 cm long, crowded at the stem tips, glabrous. Flowers, white, bloom whole year round, flowers fan-like shape. Fruits, white, float in seawater and are propagated by ocean currents. Beach cabbage is one of the pioneer plants in new sandbanks and atolls in tropical areas.

Native to coastal locations in the tropical areas of the Indo-Pacific. It is a common beach shrub throughout the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean and the tropical islands of the Pacific Ocean

No known.

In some islands of the Pacific, Beach cabbage is used to prevent coastal erosion as well as for landscaping. It is also planted on the beach crests to protect other cultivated plants from the salt spray.

Evergreen vine, growing up to 20 m long, with stems up to 4 cm in diameter. Leaves alternate, heart-shaped, entire on juvenile plants but irregularly pinnate on mature plants, up to 100 cm long and 45 cm broad, juvenile leaves much smaller (< 20 cm). The flowers arranged along a spadix are produced in a spathe. However, it rarely flowers without artificial hormone supplements. It can be cultivated from a cutting, a part of a plant used in plant propagation.

Native to Society Islands of French Polynesia. It is a popular houseplant in temperate regions but has also become naturalized in tropical and subtropical forests worldwide, including Australia, SE-Asia and the Pacific Islands.

No known.

“Golden Pothos” is also called “Devil’s vine” because it is almost impossible to kill, and it stays green even when kept in the dark.

Cycas is a very ancient genus of trees. The group achieved its maximum diversity in the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, when it was distributed almost worldwide. At the end of the Cretaceous, when the non-avian dinosaurs became extinct, so did most of the Cycas species in the Northern Hemisphere.

Native to Japan. Widespread as an ornamental plant. The genus Cycas is native to the Old World, with the species concentrated around the equatorial regions.

The juice of tender leaves is useful in the treatment of flatulence and vomiting.

It is one of several species used for the production of sago (starch extracted from the spongy center of various tropical stems, mostly of palms, especially those of Metroxylon sagu – “true sago palm”).

Perennial herbs, up to 1m tall, grow from an elongated corm or a rhizome. Leaves linear, grow from the base of the plant. Flowers yellow. The six tepals are arranged in two series: The outer tepals (sepals) are larger than the inner ones (petals), both have brown-purple markings at the base. The style is divided into three branches.

Native to the warmer parts of southern Mexico, Central America, South America, Florida and the West Indies. Grown around the world as an ornamental.

No known.