Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) is a plant species in Fabaceae as the only species in Tamarindus, a large tree and always green, fruit has a sour or sweet taste that is commonly used as a seasoning mixture in many dishes and flavorings for a variety of drinks.
T. indica has a height of up to 30 m, stem diameter up to 2 m and sturdy. The bark is grayish brown, rough, cracked and in vertical grooves. Shady canopy and leafy, widened and rounded.
The leaves are compound and pinnate even, 5-13 cm long, sitting side by side with the supporting leaf like a tapered ribbon. Minor leaves are oval shaped and narrow, 8-16 pairs each measuring 0.5-1x1-3.5 cm, flat edge, base tilted and rounded, tip rounded until slightly curved.
The flowers are arranged in a loose bunch at the armpit of the leaf or at the end of a branch, up to 16 cm long. Butterfly-shaped flower with four petals, five crowns and fragrant. Leucorrhoea yellow crown with red brown veins and size up to 1.5 cm.
Fruit in pods that are distended, somewhat cylindrical, curved or straight, 1-10 seeds with constriction between chambers. Mesocarp is greenish white when young, brownish red to blackish when very ripe, sticky and has a sour or sweet taste. The seeds are blackish brown, shiny, somewhat square and hard.
An evergreen tropical species, grows well at elevations of up to 1500 meters, sandy or clay soil, especially in areas with long dry seasons. Reddish brown wood, heavy, hard, dense, durable and has a smooth texture for making furniture, crafts, carvings and statues. Shoots are often used as material for making bonsai.
This plant contains tannins, saponins, steroids, flavonoids, alkaloids, β-sitosterol, cycloartanol, limonene, malic acid, longifolene, crytopinone, tartaric acid. Often used as a medicine for canker sores, inflammation, joint pain, cough medicine, fever, diarrhea, asthma, wounds and boils, increases appetite and softens the skin.
The flesh of the fruit is very popular for various cooking ingredients. The young fruit is very sour and is usually used as a vegetable seasoning or salad mixture, drink ingredient, syrup ingredient, jam, confectionery and herbal medicine. Ripe fruit can be stored for a long time after peeling and slightly drying. Seeds are usually eaten after being soaked and boiled or roasted. The seeds are also used as flour to make cakes.
TAXON
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Detarioideae
Tribe: Amherstieae
Genus: Tamarindus Tourn. ex L. in Sp. Pl.: 34 (1753)
Species: Tamarindus indica L. in Sp. Pl.: 34 (1753)
HOMOTYPIC SYNONYMS
Tamarindus officinalis Hook. in Bot. Mag. 77: t. 4563 (1851)
Tamarindus umbrosa Salisb. in Prodr. Stirp. Chap. Allerton: 323 (1796)
HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS
Cavaraea elegans Speg. in Anales Soc. Ci. Argent. 82: 223 (1916)
Tamarindus erythraeus Mattei in Boll. Reale Orto Bot. Palermo 7: 95 (1908)
Tamarindus indica var. emarginata Chiov. in Fl. Somala 2: 178 (1932)
Tamarindus occidentalis Gaertn. in Fruct. Sem. Pl. 2: 310 (1791)
Tamarindus somalensis Mattei in Boll. Reale Orto Bot. Palermo 7: 94 (1908)
PUBLICATIONS
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VERNACULAR NAME
Aceh: Boh meë
Arabic: تمر هندي
Bengali: আমলি Amli
Bima: Mangga
Burmese: မဂျီး - မဂျီး-ပန် Magyee, Majee-pen
Cebu: Sambag
Chinese (Simplified): 酸角 - 罗望子 - 酸豆 - 酸子
Chinese (Traditional): 羅望子 - 酸酸果 - 亞森果 - 酸豆 - 酸子
Czech: Tamarind indický
Danish: Tamarindetræ
English: Tamarind
Filipino: Sampalok, Kalamagi, Salomagi, Sampaloc
Finnish: Tamarindipuu
French: Tamarinier
Guaymí: Bu
Hebrew: תמרהינדי
Hindi: इमली - तीतर - अमली - आंवला - अमलिका Imli, Titar, Amli, Amla, Amlika
Indonesia: Asam jawa, Asam, Tambaring
Japanese: タマリンド
Java: Asêm
Kannada: Hunase mara, Hunise, Hunase, Hunuse, Hunasi, Hulise
Khmer: អាំពូល - អំពិល - ខូអា ម៉េ Am'pül, Ampil, Khoua me
Korean: 타마린드
Kwéyòl: Tanmawen
Lao: ຂາມ - ມັກຂາມ Khaam, Mak kham
Ledo: Poi Sambalagi
Lithuanian: Indinis tamarindas
Madura: Accem
Makassar: Camba
Malayalam: Amlam, Balapuli, Kolpuli, Puli, Valampuli
Malaysia: asam jawa
Manipuri: Mange
Marathi: Chinch
Melayu: Asam jawa, Asam
Minahasa: Asam kamal
Minangkabau: Cumalagi
Mizo: Tengtere
Oria: Kaiyan, Tentuli, Tetul
Polish: Tamaryndowiec indyjski
Portuguese: Tamarindeiro, Tamarindo
Russian: Тамаринд индийский
Sanskrit: Amlika, Tintrini, Chinchaa, Tintrini
Sena: M'bhwemba
Shona: Musika, Sika
Singapore: Tamarind, Asam Jawa
Slovak: Tamarind indooceánsky
Spanish: Tamarindo africano, Tamarindo
Sranan Tongo: Tamalen
Sulawesi: Asang jawi
Sunda: Tangkal Asem, Kamal
Tagalog: Sampalok, kalamagi
Tamil: புளி - புலியா மரம் Puli, Puliya maram
Telugu: Chinta
Teso: Epeduru
Thai: มะขาม
Timor: Sukaer
Turkish: Demirhindi
Vietnam: Me, Trai me
Yogyakarta: Asêm
Aryo Bandoro
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