Tropical Plant Field Guide
Thirty six plants of Southeast Asia, one page each. How to recognise it, what it is used for, what is genuinely unsafe, and two things to do with children.
36 resources in this collection
Written by Eric Gonzalez-Payne, founder of Empathy School Bali.
36 resources
All agesLemongrass
Nature and science
The mosquito plant. Grows in a clump like coarse grass, smells of lemon the moment a leaf is crushed.
All agesButterfly Pea
Nature and science
The blue flower that turns pink. The best colour chemistry demonstration available, and it grows on a fence.
All agesPandan
Nature and science
The vanilla of Southeast Asia. Long green blades that smell of something sweet and cooked.
Ages 5 to 14Turmeric
Nature and science
The orange root that stains everything. A dye, a medicine and a lesson in what is hidden underground.
Ages 5 to 14Ginger
Nature and science
The kitchen root children have eaten a hundred times and never seen growing.
All agesAloe Vera
Nature and science
Thick spiky leaves full of clear gel. The plant almost every family already has for burns.
All agesFrangipani
Nature and science
Five petals, almost always. The flower used in temples, offerings and hair across the region.
All agesBanana
Nature and science
Not a tree. The stem is made of rolled leaves, and the plant dies after fruiting once.
All agesPapaya
Nature and science
Grows almost anywhere from a discarded seed. The easiest fruit tree to start with children.
All agesCoconut
Nature and science
Water, food, rope, roof and fuel from one tree. Also the most dangerous thing overhead in a tropical playground.
All agesTouch Me Not
Nature and science
The plant that folds up when touched. Nothing else holds the attention of a young child like it.
Ages 5 to 14Chilli
Nature and science
Heat as a defence. A plant that has an opinion about who eats it.
All agesHibiscus
Nature and science
A big obvious flower with all its parts on display. The best plant for teaching flower anatomy.
Ages 5 to 14Moringa
Nature and science
The drumstick tree. Grows from a cutting stuck in the ground, and the leaves are unusually nutritious.
Ages 5 to 14Taro
Nature and science
Enormous leaves that water rolls straight off. A staple food and an accidental physics lesson.
All agesRice
Nature and science
The plant every child in the region eats daily and almost none have seen growing.
All agesSweet Potato
Nature and science
A vine you can start from a supermarket tuber, and the leaves are edible too.
Ages 5 to 14Water Spinach
Nature and science
Grows in water, grows fast, and is on half the menus in the region.
Ages 7 to 14Cassava
Nature and science
Feeds hundreds of millions, and is poisonous until it is processed. A serious lesson in why food knowledge matters.
Ages 6 to 14Neem
Nature and science
The bitter tree. Used as an insect repellent, a toothbrush and a medicine across South Asia.
All agesCurry Leaf
Nature and science
Smells nothing like curry powder. A useful lesson in why names mislead.
Ages 6 to 14Galangal
Nature and science
The third root in the ginger family, and the one that separates people who cook from people who guess.
Ages 5 to 14Makrut Lime
Nature and science
A leaf shaped like a figure eight, and a fruit that looks like it has been through something difficult.
Ages 8 to 14Betel
Nature and science
A leaf with deep cultural meaning across the region, and a genuine health story attached.
Ages 5 to 14Jackfruit
Nature and science
The largest fruit that grows on a tree, and it grows straight out of the trunk.
Ages 5 to 14Durian
Nature and science
The most divisive fruit in the world, and a good introduction to preference as data.
All agesRambutan
Nature and science
A hairy red shell hiding something that looks entirely different inside.
All agesMarigold
Nature and science
Planted between vegetables for a reason. A working part of a garden rather than decoration.
All agesBasil
Nature and science
Fast, forgiving, and different in every cuisine that grows it.
All agesMint
Nature and science
The plant that escapes. Grow it in a pot or it will take your whole bed.
Ages 5 to 14Bamboo
Nature and science
A grass that builds houses. The fastest growing plant most children will ever meet.
All agesSnake Plant
Nature and science
Nearly impossible to kill. The right first plant for a classroom with no garden.
All agesSunflower
Nature and science
Fast, tall, and the seed head is a spiral you can actually count.
Ages 5 to 14Passion Fruit
Nature and science
An extraordinary flower and a fruit full of seeds. Grows up a fence in a season.
All agesMango
Nature and science
One enormous seed, which is exactly the opposite strategy to passion fruit.
Ages 5 to 14Tamarind
Nature and science
Sour in a way children have opinions about, and the pods look like nothing else.