Tamarindus indica L.

 

Family: Fabaceae

Synonym: Tamarindus officinalis Hook., Tamarindus umbrosa Salisb.

Vernacular name: Amlam, Balapuli, Kolpuli, Puli, Valampuli

Habit: Tree

Habitat: Open areas, forest edges and cultivated

Distribution: India, Tropical Africa

Flowering and Fruiting: October-December

Key identification features: Trees with bark brown to brownish-black. Leaves oblong. Flowers bisexual, yellow with reddish-pink dots, in lax terminal racemes. Fruit a pod fruit wall crustaceous, mesocarp pulpy, endocarp septate, leathery, indehiscent; seeds 3-8 or more, obovoid-orbicular, compressed, brown.

Uses: The tender leaves and fruits are made into chutney. Wood very hard and heavy used for agricultural purposes and constructions. Both unripe and ripe fruit are edible.