LEGUME FAMILY (LEGUMINOSAE) 



CASSIA SUBFAMILY (CAESALPINIOIDEAE; CAESALPINIACEAE) 



80. Tamarindo, tamarind 



This well-known handsome planted tree, whose, 

 soiu- pods are used in a refreshinc; drink, is char- 

 acterized by : ( 1 ) a generally dense crown of 

 feathery, pinnate leaves 2^1/4 inches long, with 

 10-18 pairs of oblong blue-green leafl?ts %-% inch 

 long and Vs-Va inch broad; (2) showy flowers 

 about 1 inch across, pale yellow tinged with red, 

 several in tenninal and lateral clusters (racemes) 

 11/2-6 inches long; and (3) the gray, rough, thick 

 pods li/o-S inches long, containing dark brown 

 edible pulp around the seeds. Showy when in full 

 bloom, the flowei-s giving yellowish color to the 

 tre«. 



A medium-sized tree to 40 feet high and with 

 usually a short, tiimk to 3 feet in diameter or 

 larger, with a rounded crown of dense fine foliage, 

 except on very dry sites. The bark is rough, much 

 fissured, gray or brown, and thick. Inner bark 

 is brownish, gritty, and slightly bitter in taste. 

 The twigs are green and minutely hairy when 

 young, turning gray or brown. 



The leaves are alternate. Leaflets are almost 

 stalkless and close together along a slender pale 

 green axis, rounded at both ends and oblique at 

 base, not toothed, thin, blue green above and 

 slightly paler beneath, folding against axis at 

 night. 



The flowers are slightly irregular shaped, deli- 

 cate, and on .slender stalks. Flower buds are dark 

 red. The narrow, pale green basal tube (liypan- 

 thium) is %6 inch long; there are 4 pale yellow 

 seiials % inch long; 3 pale yellow petals with red 

 veins, keeled and broader toward the finely wavy 

 apex, the 2 outer ones % inch long and central 

 petal % inch long, 2 other petals reduced to min- 

 ute scales; 3 greenish stamens Y_> inch long, united 

 by filaments to middle, and 2 minute sterile sta- 

 mens : and a green beanlike pistil % inch long with 

 stalked 1-celled ovary and curved style. 



The heavy, often curved pods are about 1V2-4 

 inches long, %-l inch wide, and %-% inch thick, 

 slightly constricted between the seeds, with a 

 l>rittle outer shell, and not splitting open. Usually 

 3 or 4 flattened shiny brown seeds % inch long 

 are imbedded in the dark brown, fibrous pulp, 

 which is edible though very sour. Seeds 400 to a 

 pound. Flowering mainly from spring to fall and 

 fruiting from winter to spring. 



Tamarindus indica L.* 



The sapwood is light yellow and moderately 

 soft, and the snuill heartwood dark purplish 

 brown. The wood is described as very hard, 

 heavy (specific gravity 0.9) , and takes a fine polish. 

 It is strong and durable, although very susceptible 

 to attack by dry-wood termites. 



The wood is used chiefly for fuel and is re- 

 ported to generate great heat. In other places 

 where the species is sufficiently common, the wood 

 is employed for construction, tool handles, furni- 

 ture, and articles in woodturning but is considered 

 very difficult to work. Good charcoal for gun- 

 powder formerly was manufactured from it. 



Candy and preserves, as well as the beverage, 

 are prepared from the edible pods. The young 

 tender sour fruits have been cooked for seasoning 

 meats, and the young leaves and flowers reportedly 

 consumed as food. Besides making the trees orna- 

 mental, the flowers attract bees and are an im- 

 portant source of honey. However, the litter of 

 the pods is objectionable in street planting. In 

 India the trees are planted on forest firebreaks be- 

 cause the ground underneath usually is bare. 



The fruit pulp is employed in home medicine 

 and formerly was official as the source of a laxative. 

 It contains sugar as well as acetic, tartaric, and 

 citric acids and is antiscorbutic. Decoctions from 

 flowers, seeds, young leaves, and bark of the plant 

 have been used medicinally also. A yellow dye 

 has been obtained from the leaves. 



Planted in Puerto Rico mainly for the fruits 

 and ornament and shade and occasionally natural- 

 ized. Fairly common around houses, along roads, 

 and on hillsides in the coastal regions, mainly on 

 the dry coa.st. Also in Vieques, St. Croix, St. 

 Thomas, St. John, and Tortola. 



R.VNOE. — Native of the Old AVorld tropics but 

 widely planted and naturalized in tropical and 

 subtropical regions and introduced into the New 

 World at a very early date. Cultivated and often 

 naturalized throughout West Indies and from 

 Mexico to Brazil. Planted also in southern 

 Florida including Florida Keys and in Bermuda. 



Other common names. — taman, tamarindade 

 (Virgin Islands) ; tamarindo (Spanish) ; tama- 

 rind (United States, English); tamarin, tama- 

 rinier, tamarindier (French) ; tamarijn, tamarind 

 (Dutch West Indies); tamarinde (Surinam); 

 tamarindo (Brazil). 



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