Leguminosae. 95 
stance is derived mainly from fossil copal, which occurs in large 
quantities buried in the sand, chiefly near the coasts, away from any 
Living trees. 
A good specimen occurs in the grounds of the Board of Agri- 
culture and Forestry on King Street. 
Tamarindus indica L. 
The Tamarind Tree. 
Plate XXXIX. 
The Tamarind is a large evergreen tree which often reaches a 
height of eighty feet and a circumference of twenty-five feet. No 
trees of such size occur in Honolulu. Its origin is somewhat doubt- 
ful, but it is probably a native of tropical Africa. It is a very com- 
mon tree about Honolulu where it has been in cultivation for a long 
time. In India the tree is extremely common and is frequently planted 
in avenues. Its beautiful foliage makes it quite an attractive tree. 
Its pods contain seeds which are surrounded by an acid pulp of 
pleasant flavor, making a delicious cooling drink when mixed with 
water. The leaves have twenty to forty oblong leaflets. The flowers 
are borne in lax terminal racemes, the petals are five in number, only 
three of which are developed, and are yellow with red stripes, while 
the two lower ones are reduced to scales. 
The leaves, flowers, and fruits contain a quantity of acid 
and are employed as a dye in conjunction with other dye-producing 
flowers. From the seed is expressed an oil of beautiful amber color 
which is odorless and sweet to taste, and has been advocated for culi- 
nary purposes as well as for the preparation of varnishes and paints. 
Knowledge of the value of the Tamarind as a medicinal plant 
dates back into a remote period in Sanskrit medicine and has become 
known through the Hindus to the Arabians, who in turn through 
their writings made it known to the Europeans in the middle ages. 
The name Tamarind is derived from the Arabian Tamare-Hindi, 
which means "Indian date," the Arabians thus adopting for it the 
name of their own finest fruit. In the early periods it was thought 
that the fruit was derived from a wild Indian palm. It was first 
accurately described in the sixteenth century. 
The fruit is an excellent purgative and was known in Europe 
from the middle ages, enjoying a reputation for all the virtues which 
were ascribed to it by the Arabs and Persians, and to this day it is 
used India for all purposes for which it was employed in those ancient 
times. 
