LEGUMINOSiE. 
335 
broad, binervose, and frequently bidentate at the 
apex. Petals 3, alternate with the superior sepals ; 
2 of them ovate and hooded at the middle. Stamens 
9-10 ; 2-3 longer than the rest, monadelphous, an- 
ther-bearing ; 7 very short, sterile. Style subulate. 
Legume pedicelled, scimitar-shaped, compressed, 1- 
celled, 3-0-seeded ; valves pulpy between the epi- 
spermium and the endospermium : seeds obliquely 
truncated at the hilum, ovato-quadrate ; cotyledons 
unequal at the base . — De Cand. 
Name , Latinized from the Arabic Tamer-hind//, Indian-date. 
1 . Tamarindus occidentalis. IF'est- India Tamarind '. 
Legumes abbreviated the length scarcely 3 times 
the breadth, 1-4-seeded by abortion. 
■* 
Dlacltw. Herb. t. 201. — Jacq. Atner. 10. t. 18. et t. 179. f. 
98. — Gcertn. Fruct. II. 310. t. 146. — De Cand. Prod. II. 489. 
HAB. Common in the plains. 
FL. April. 
A lofty spreading tree. Leaves alternate: leaflets 15- 
paired, oblong, rounded or subemarginate at the apex, glabrous. 
Racemes subterminal, half the length of the leaves. 
I doubt the propriety of considering this as a distinct species 
from the T. Indica, or East-India Tamarind. The otdy dif- 
ference between them is, that the pods of the West India tree 
are much shorter and fewer-seeded, than those of the East India 
variety ; the latter being 6 times broader than their length, and 
8-12-seeded. This, however, may probably be owing to the 
soil and climate in these Islands, not being so congenial as in 
their native region. We are informed by Ainslie,* that the 
Tamarinds of Java and of the depending Island Madura, are 
the best in India. In this Island, the tree bears most abun- 
dantly in the rich deep mould of the plains. 
The pulp of the Tamarind contains citric acid, malic acid, 
supertartrate of potash, sugar, gum mucilage, and other vege- 
table principles. The East-India Tamarinds are preserved 
without sugar, being merely dried in the sun, when they are 
intended to be exported from one part of the Archipelago to 
another, and cured in salt when they are to be sent to Europe. 
In the West Indies, the pulp is usually packed in small kegs 
between layers of sugar, and hot syrup is poured on the whole. 
In order to enable them to keep without fermentation for a 
Materia Indica, I. 426. 
