Tamarind
Tamarindus indica L.
Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) is a long-lived large tree whose brown pods hold tartaric-acid-rich sour pulp; it is the key souring agent in Vietnamese sour soup and also a shade and medicinal tree.
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Tamarind — Seeds & young plantsTamarind — Whole tree
Tamarind — Fruit & seeds
Tamarind — Flowers
Tamarind — Leaves
Tamarind — Trunk & barkTamarind — Seeds & young plantsTamarind — Whole treeOverview
A tree 10–25 m tall with a dense round crown and fissured grey-brown bark. Leaves are even-pinnate with many small leaflets; small yellow flowers with pink streaks grow in clusters. The pod is 5–15 cm long with a brittle brown shell and sticky sour pulp around shiny flat brown seeds.
Tamarind likes a seasonally dry tropical climate and tolerates drought well, fruiting in the dry season. The pulp flavours sour soup, preserves, drinks and spice blends; seeds are roasted and eaten; the hard wood makes furniture and charcoal.
Life cycle
From seed to productSeed
Hard seeds sit in the sour pulp; soaked and sown, they germinate in 1–3 weeks.
Sapling
Light-demanding, drought-tolerant saplings grow slowly but live very long.
Flowering
Yellow flowers with pink streaks open early in the dry season, visited by bees.
Fruiting
Brown pods ripen in the dry season with deep sour pulp; seedling trees fruit in 6–8 years.
Distribution & origin
Share of recorded occurrences by region- Tropical Africa (native)22%
- India · South Asia28%
- Southeast Asia · Vietnam22%
- Middle East12%
- Latin America · Caribbean16%
Chemical composition
Relative content in agarwood resin- Tartaric acidMain sourness36%
- Citric · malic acidSupporting acids22%
- Reducing sugarsSour-sweet balance20%
- Potassium · polyphenolsMinerals, antioxidant22%
Uses
- Pulp for sour soup, dips and sauces
- Preserves, candy, drinks; roasted seeds
- Shade tree, timber for furniture and charcoal; mild laxative remedy
Properties
- Leaf
- Even-pinnate, small leaflets
- Fruit
- Brittle brown pod, sticky sour pulp
- Seed
- Flat, shiny brown
Habitat & conservation
Native to tropical Africa, long introduced to India and Southeast Asia; likes a hot, seasonally dry climate and well-drained soil, planted along roads, at temples and in home gardens.
Conservation
Not globally threatened (IUCN: Least Concern). Widely planted with semi-wild populations in many places; no major concern.
References
- 1Plants of the World Online — Tamarindus indica — Kew Science, 2024
- 2IUCN Red List — Tamarindus indica — IUCN, 2019
- 3Tamarind (Tamarindus indica): composition and uses — Food Res. Int., 2014
- 4Hình ảnh minh hoạ lấy từ Wikimedia Commons, tôn trọng giấy phép ghi kèm — Wikimedia Commons,
- 5Nguồn ảnh: B.navez (CC BY-SA 3.0), Wikimedia Commons — Wikimedia Commons,
- 6Nguồn ảnh: Honzaprazak (CC BY-SA 4.0), Wikimedia Commons — Wikimedia Commons,
- 7Nguồn ảnh: Forestowlet (CC0), Wikimedia Commons — Wikimedia Commons,
- 8Nguồn ảnh: J.M.Garg (CC BY 3.0), Wikimedia Commons — Wikimedia Commons,
- 9Nguồn ảnh: Philipp Weigell (CC BY 3.0), Wikimedia Commons — Wikimedia Commons,
- 10Nguồn ảnh: DouglasGoldman (CC BY-SA 4.0), Wikimedia Commons — Wikimedia Commons,