Appearance
The tamarind is a long-lived, medium-growth tree, which attains a maximum crown height of 25 metres. The crown has an irregular, vase-shaped outline of dense foliage. The tree grows well in full sun. It prefers clay, loam, sandy, and acidic soil types, with a high resistance to drought and aerosol salt.The evergreen leaves are alternately arranged and pinnately lobed. The leaflets are bright green, elliptic-ovular, pinnately veined, and less than 5 centimetres in length. The branches droop from a single, central trunk as the tree matures, and are often pruned in agriculture to optimize tree density and ease of fruit harvest. At night, the leaflets close up.
As a tropical species, it is frost-sensitive. The pinnate leaves with opposite leaflets give a billowing effect in the wind. Tamarind timber consists of hard, dark red heartwood and softer, yellowish sapwood.
The tamarind flowers bloom, with red and yellow elongated flowers. Flowers are 2.5 cm wide, five-petalled, borne in small racemes, and yellow with orange or red streaks. Buds are pink as the four sepals are pink and are lost when the flower blooms.
Naming
The name derives from, romanized "tamar hindi", "Indian date". Several early medieval herbalists and physicians wrote "tamar indi", medieval Latin use was "tamarindus", and Marco Polo wrote of "tamarandi".References:
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