110 



DESCRIPTIVE BOTANY. 



8 to 16 pairs, opposite, one half to three quarters of an inch long, sessile 

 and overlapping, oblong, blunt, unequal at the base, thick-veined underneath. 

 This is the only species of the genus ; but as it is propagated from the seed, 

 it sports and produces varieties differing in the size and quality of the fruit. 

 The pods of the Indian and African varieties have more beans in them than 

 those of America. 



Hymemea verrucosa, of Madagascar, and H. combaril of the West Indies, 

 are allied to the Tamarindus. H. combaril is the locust-tree of the West 

 Indies. 



Trachi/lobium Hornemanntanum, of eastern Africa, is also an ally of 

 Tamarindus. 



Geographic . — The geographical zone of the tamarind is tropical and sub- 

 tropical. It is indigenous to Africa, but it has- spread by cultivation to 

 Arabia, to southern India, Ceylon, Java, the Philippines, northern Australia, 

 the tropical isles of the Pacific, the West India islands, and to tropical South 

 America. 



Etymology. — Tamarindus is from the Arabic Tamar, a date, and Indus, 

 India, hence Indian date. Indica denotes the country in which it grows, yet 

 it is not known to be a native of India. Tamarind, the common name, is the 

 generic name Anglicized. 



History. — There is reason to believe that the ancient Greeks and Romans 

 were not acquainted with the tamarind, but it seems to have been known to 



the ancient Egyptians. It is 

 mentioned in the Koran, and 

 was well know^n to Arabic 

 physicians in the middle ages. 

 Preparation. — In the West 

 Indies the fruit is picked when 

 ripe, packed in small kegs, and 

 hot syrup is poured over it ; 

 then the vessels are closed, 

 and it is fit for the market. 



In Asia the fruit is packed 

 in salt, and a syrup made from 

 the fruit is poured over it. 



In Africa the pulp is sepa- 

 rated from the pod and seed 

 and pressed into cakes, then 

 dried in the sun. 

 Use. — The medicinal properties of the tamarind are laxative, cooling, 

 and anti-febrile. It contains about one tenth of its weight of citric acid, also 

 small quantities of acetic, malic, and tartaric acids, hence its value in producing 

 acid drinks, for which it is largely used in the countries where it grows. 



It is an important article of food among the natives of the hot countries of 

 Asia and Afi-ica. The seeds are roasted, and reduced to flour, of which cakes 

 are made ; they are also boiled. The Hindus make use of the leaves, flowers, 

 bark, and seeds in the preparation of healing remedies. 



In the Atlantic cities of the United States it is used as a preserve. In the 

 famine of 1878-9 the leaves were used as food in the Deccan. 



The timber produced by these trees is hard and durable, and they all 

 produce a resinous gum known as copal, which when heated with linseed 

 oil or spirits of turpentine, dissolves and forms the best varnish. The gum 



Tamarindus (Tamarind). 



