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== Synonyms ==
*''Tamarindus occidentalis'' Gaertn. (1791), *''Tamarindus officinalis'' Hook. (1851).
== Vernacular names ==
*Tamarind, Indian tamarind (En). *Tamarinier (Fr)
*Indonesia: asam, asam jawa, tambaring
*Malaysia: asam jawa
== Origin and geographic distribution ==
The origin of tamarind is unknown. It is generally believed that it is indigenous to the drier savannas of tropical Africa, but it certainly naturalized long ago in tropical Asia. Tamarind is now cultivated in all tropical countries, even on a plantation scale in India, and it is economically important all over South-East Asia. == Uses ==
The green fruits and flowers may be used for souring soupy dishes of fish and meat. The ripe fruit of the sweet type is usually eaten fresh, whereas the fruits of sour types are made into juice, jam, syrup and candy. Tamarind seeds are also edible after soaking in water and boiling to remove the seed-coat. Flour from the seed may be made into cake and bread. Roasted seeds are claimed to be superior to groundnuts in flavour. The seed oil - which resembles linseed oil - is suitable for making paint and varnish.
== Description ==
*A large evergreen tree, up to 30 m tall, bole usually 1-2 m long, up to 2 m diameter, crown densely foliaged, widely spreading, rounded; bark rough, fissured, greyish-brown. *Leaves alternate, stipulate, petiolate, paripinnately compound; petiole up to 1.5 cm long, leaving a prominent scar after falling; blade suboblong in outline, up to 13 cm × 5 cm, with 8-16 pairs of leaflets; leaflets narrowly oblong, 1-3.5 cm × 0.5-1 cm, entire, oblique and rounded at base, rounded to slightly emarginate at apex. *Inflorescences lax lateral and terminal racemes, up to 13 cm long; flowers .*Flowers ca. 3 cm long, fragrant; sepals 4, unequal, up to 1.5 cm long; petals 5, the posterior and lateral ones large and showy, cream coloured with brown-red veins, the 2 anterior ones much reduced, linear, white; stamens 3; pistil 1, up to 18-ovuled. *Fruit a subcylindrical, straight or curved, indehiscent pod with rounded ends, up to 14 cm × 4 cm, up to 10-seeded, often irregularly constricted between the seeds; exocarp crustaceous, greyish or more usually scurfy brown, with some strong fibrous threads inside; mesocarp thick-syrupy, blackish-brown; endocarp thin, leathery. *Seeds irregularly shaped, flattened rhomboid, up to 18 mm long, very hard, brown.
== Growth and development ==
''Tamarindus'' L. is a monospecific genus. In the past a distinction was made between tamarinds from the West and the East Indies:
*West Indies: ''T. occidentalis'' : pod up to 3 times longer than wide, containing 1-4 seeds;
*East Indies: ''T. indica'' : pod up to 6 times or more longer than wide, containing 6-12 seeds.
There are several tamarind cultivars, differing mainly in colour and sweetness of the flesh. In Thailand named cultivars of the sweet type (makahm wahn) are grown in orchards, e.g. "Muen Chong", "Nazi Zad", "Si Chompoo". "Manila Sweet" is a cultivar of the Philippines.
== Literature ==
* Carangal, A.R., Gonzalez, L.G. & Daguman, I.L., 1961. The acid constituents of some Philippine fruits. The Philippine Agriculturists 44: 514-519.
* Pratt, D.S. & del Rosario, J.I., 1913. Philippine fruits: their composition and characteristics. Philippine Journal of Science A8: 59-80.
* Soetisna, U. & Hidajat, E., 1977. Pohon asam (Tamarindus indica L.) [Tamarind tree (Tamarindus indica L.)]. Buletin Kebun Raya 3(2): 63-65.
== Authors ==