Tamarindus occiden...   

Tamarindus occidentalis Gaertn., Tamarindus offi cinalis Hook.'s description

Trees, to 25 m high, bark brown to brownish-black, rough with vertical fi ssures. Leaves paripinnate, alternate; rachis 8-13 cm long; leafl ets 20-34, opposite, sessile, base unequal, apex obtuse; lateral nerves 10- 15 pairs, looped at the margin. Flowers 1 cm across, yellow with reddish-pink dots, in lax terminal racemes; pedicels upto 5 mm. Calyx tube narrowly turbinate, lined by disc; lobes 4, subequal, oblong, imbricate. Petals 3, outer one, 1 × 0.3 cm, pink dotted, lateral 2, 1-1.5 × 0.7-1 cm, clawed, subequal, oblonglanceolate, lower pair scaly. Stamens 9, monadelphous, only 3 fertile. Fruit a pod, 10- 15 × 1-2 cm, oblong, fruit wall crustaceous, mesocarp pulpy, seeds 3-8 or more, obovoidorbicular, compressed, brown.

Tamarindus occidentalis Gaertn., Tamarindus offi cinalis Hook.'s facts

Animal feed, fodder, forage

• Fodder/animal feed

Environmental

• Agroforestry
• Shade and shelter
• Windbreak

Fuels

• Charcoal
• Fuelwood

General

• Ornamental

Human food and beverage

• Beverage base
• Fruits
• Honey/honey flora
• Spices and culinary herbs

Materials

• Carved material
• Miscellaneous materials
• Wood/timber

Medicinal, pharmaceutical

• Source of medicine/pharmaceutical
• Traditional/folklore

Sawn or hewn building timbers

• Carpentry/joinery (exterior/interior)
• For light construction

Woodware

• Industrial and domestic woodware
• Tool handles
• Turnery

Tamarindus occidentalis Gaertn., Tamarindus offi cinalis Hook.'s Behavior & Ecology

Tamarindus indica is a large evergreen tree, up to 30 m tall. It grows well over a wide range of soil and climatic conditions. It is found in places with sandy to clay soils, at low to medium altitudes (up to 1000 m, sometimes to 1500 m). Seedlings takes 6-12 years to mature and yield fruit, but the tree may still be productive after 200 years (FAO 2010).

Tamarindus occidentalis Gaertn., Tamarindus offi cinalis Hook.'s Feeding

Surface of the fruit somewhat scurfy. Pods thick, oblong, indehiscent, about 3.5-20 x 2.5 cm, often constricted between the seeds. Seeds surrounded by an edible pulp which is sour to taste. Seeds 1-12. Individual seeds about 15 x 10 mm. Testa shiny brown.

Tamarindus occidentalis Gaertn., Tamarindus offi cinalis Hook.'s Reproduction

Flowering & fruiting: September – April

• Sex distribution :
  Bisexual (each flower of each individual has both male and female structures).
• Mode of pollination :
  Tamarind is predominantly cross pollinated.
  The flowers are nectariferous.
  Pollination is through the agents of insects. In India, red ant (Oecophylla smaragdina Fab.) plays an important role. (Tamarind, Indian Council of forestry Research and Education, ICFRE, Dehra Dun)
• Seed dispersal :
  Mechanical dispersal (barochory) : dispersal of seeds by gravity.
  Animal dispersal (zoochory), depending on the area.
  Humans play a considerable role in the dispersal of tamarind seeds.

Tamarindus occidentalis Gaertn., Tamarindus offi cinalis Hook.'s Conservation

There are no major threats to this species.

Tamarindus occidentalis Gaertn., Tamarindus offi cinalis Hook.'s Relationship with Humans

Wood very hard, and close grained and takes a fine polish, it is resistant and durable but susceptible to termite attack (Hiwale 2015). It has been used in making furniture, wheels, mallets, rice pounders, mortars, pestles, plows, well construction, tent pegs, canoes, side planks for boats, cart shafts and axles, and naves of wheels, toys, hubs, oil presses, sugar presses, tools and tool handles, turnery, etc. 
Tamarind products, leaves, fruits, and seeds have been extensively used in traditional medicine (Hiwale 2015; Lim 2012, PROSEA 2017). 

The most common and widespread use of tamarind is the edible tamarind fruit, which is available worldwide in pod form, as a paste or concentrate (Lim 2012). Tamarind pulp is used for making various chutneys, sauces, jams, jellies, marmalades, preserves, confection, cakes puddings, beverages and drinks. 
Tamarindus indica is also planted for its ornamental value.

Tamarindus occidentalis Gaertn., Tamarindus offi cinalis Hook. habitat

Tamarindus occidentalis Gaertn., Tamarindus offi cinalis Hook. threats

Tamarindus occidentalis Gaertn., Tamarindus offi cinalis Hook.'s status