Tamarind- Botanical Name ?!
I am using Tamarind Leaves ( greenish leaves on Top of Bunch) for Chatni.
My Grand Mother collect lot of Tamarind Fruits and dry it and she Deseed it and dried in Sun and store for full year in Mud Pot with salt ( in pocket )
I am using Tamarind Extract for daily use.
Can anybody tell the Botanical Name.
Answers: I am using Tamarind for Sambar /Rasam/Pulusu.
I am using Tamarind Leaves ( greenish leaves on Top of Bunch) for Chatni.
My Grand Mother collect lot of Tamarind Fruits and dry it and she Deseed it and dried in Sun and store for full year in Mud Pot with salt ( in pocket )
I am using Tamarind Extract for daily use.
Can anybody tell the Botanical Name.
Tamarindus indica
syn T.officinalis
Fam Leguminosae
Tamarind is from a curved brown bean-pod from the tamarind tree. The pod contains a sticky pulp enclosing one to ten shiny black seeds. It is the pulp that is used as a flavoring for its sweet, sour, fruity aroma and taste. It is available as a pressed fibrous slab, or as a jamlike bottled concentrate, and some Indian shops carry the dried pods.
Believed to originate in East Africa, tamarind now grows extensively throughout the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and the West Indies. Tamarind means ‘date of India’ In Hindu mythology, tamarind is associated with the wedding of the god Krishna which is celebrated by a feast in November. In Victorian times, the British in Goa kept a tamarind in one ear when venturing into the native quarter to keep themselves free from harassment because the locals believed the fresh pods were inhabited by malevolent demons. This earned the colonials the nickname ‘Lugimlee’ or ‘tamarind heads’, and it has stuck to this day.
Tamarind is an excellent brass and copper polish. Take a slab of tamarind, sprinkle on some salt, wet it and rub it directly on the object to be polished. It is also used in tropical drinks.
Botanical name ----- Family name ----------Commercial part
Tamarindus indica --------L. Cesalpiniaceae --------Pods
The Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) (from the Arabic: ??? ???? tamar hindi = Indian date) is in the family Fabaceae. The genus Tamarindus is monotypic (having only a single species). It is a tropical tree, native to tropical Africa, including parts of the Madagascar dry deciduous forests, the tree grows wild throughout the Sudan and was so long ago introduced into and adopted in India that it has often been reported as indigenous there also, and it was apparently from India that it reached the Persians and the Arabs who called it "tamar hindi" (Indian date, from the date-like appearance of the dried pulp), giving rise to both its common and generic names. Unfortunately, the specific name, "indica", also perpetuates the illusion of Indian origin. The fruit was well known to the ancient Egyptians and to the Greeks in the 4th Century B.C.
The tree has long been naturalized in the East Indies and the islands of the Pacific. One of the first tamarind trees in Hawaii was planted in 1797. The tamarind was certainly introduced into tropical America, Bermuda, the Bahamas, and the West Indies much earlier. In all tropical and near-tropical areas, including South Florida, it is grown as a shade and fruit tree, along roadsides and in dooryards and parks. There are commercial plantings in Mexico, Belize and other Central American countries and in northern Brazil. In India there are extensive tamarind orchards producing 275,500 tons (250,000 MT) annually. The pulp is marketed in northern Malaya and to some extent wherever the tree is found even if there are no plantations.
A Tamarind seedlingThe tree can grow up to 20 m in height, and stays evergreen in regions without a dry season. Tamarind timber consists of hard, dark red heartwood and softer, yellowish sapwood. The leaves consist of 10–40 leaflets. The flowers are produced in racemes. The fruit is a brown pod-like legume, which contains a soft acidic pulp and many hard-coated seeds. The seeds can be scarified to enhance germination.