Tamarind

Parts Usually Used

Fruit, leaves

Description of Plant(s) and Culture

Tamarind is an evergreen tree; it grows up to 80 feet high; its trunk, covered with shaggy, brownish-gray bark, may reach 25 feet in diameter. The alternate, even-pinnate leaves have from 2- to 40 small, opposite, oblong leaflets. The pale yellow flowers have petals with red veins and grow in racemes at the ends of the branches. Flowering time in the northern hemisphere is during April and May.

The fruit is a cinnamon-colored oblong pod, from 3 to 8 inches long, with a thin, brittle shell enclosing a soft, brownish, acidulous pulp.

Where Found

Found in tropical climates.

Medicinal Properties

Anthelmintic, laxative, refrigerant

Legends, Myths and Stories

Tamarind is a tropical tree of India bearing pods with a sweetish sour soft brown pulp. This pulp contains considerable proportion of tartaric acid and invert sugar. In the Orient a brine is made of the pulp for pickling fish, and an acid jelly made to serve with fish and cold meats. Rice cooked with Tamarind pulp is also eaten with fish or meats.

Uses

Historically, the fruit was consumed as a food and prepared into cooling beverages in tropical regions, where it was also given as a refreshing drink to individuals suffering from fevers. Traditional herbalists regarded the fruit as a mild laxative, frequently combining the pulp with senna to alter the latter's effects. Additionally, practitioners mixed the fruit pulp with Cassia fistula and powdered rhubarb to create a drink intended to stimulate the appetite.

In local tropical traditions, the leaves were applied externally in the form of poultices or fomentations.

Bibliography

The Herbalist Almanac , by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, copyright 1988, fifth printing, 1994 Chinese Medicinal Herbs , compiled by Shih-Chen Li, Georgetown Press, San Francisco, California, 1973. The Herb Book , by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974. The Yoga of Herbs: An Ayurvedic Guide to Herbal Medicine , by Dr.

David Frawley & Dr. Vasant Lad, Lotus Press, Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, Second edition, 1988. , 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023