Trop picks: Elaeocarpus

Follow the germination of an idea–the round brocade design on Indian silks–from its beginnings in the Elaeocarpus species of trees indigenous to the Old World tropics, to the intricately grooved endocarp found inside the fruit, to jewellery worn by Austronesian tribes, to the sacred necklace or Rudrakshamala favoured by devotees of the deity Shiva.