Tamarind

Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) is a leguminous tree native to tropical Africa that has become naturalized in Asia. It is the sole species in the genus *Tamarindus* and a member of the Fabaceae family. The tree produces brown, pod-shaped fruit filled with a sweet and tangy pulp, which is used in cooking around the world, as well as in traditional remedies and as a dye. Its timber is valued for woodworking, the seeds yield oil, and the young leaves are used in Indian and Filipino dishes. Thanks to its many applications, tamarind is grown across tropical and subtropical regions globally.

The tamarind is a long-lived, medium-growth tree that can reach a crown height of 25 to 30 meters (82–98 feet). Its dense, irregular, vase-shaped crown can spread up to 12 meters (39 feet) wide, and the trunk may grow to a circumference of 7.5 meters (25 feet). It thrives in full sun and prefers clay, loam, sandy, and acidic soils, showing strong resistance to drought and wind-borne salt near coasts. The timber consists of hard, dark red heartwood and softer, yellowish sapwood. The evergreen leaves are alternately arranged and paripinnately compound, with bright green, elliptic-ovular leaflets under 15 centimeters (6 inches) long. As the tree matures, its branches droop from a single central trunk and are often pruned to improve tree density and fruit harvesting. Being a tropical species, it is sensitive to frost.

The tree produces inconspicuous flowers that are red and yellow, each about 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) wide with five petals, borne in small racemes. The flowers are yellow with orange or red streaks, and before blooming, they are enclosed in a bud by four pink sepals that fall off when the flower opens.

The fruit is an indehiscent pod, 12 to 15 centimeters (4.5 to 6 inches) long, with a hard brown shell. Asian tamarinds tend to have longer pods containing six to twelve seeds, while African and West Indian varieties have shorter pods with one to six seeds. A mature tree can produce up to 225 kilograms (496 pounds) of fruit annually. The fleshy, acidic pulp turns brown or reddish brown when ripe and tastes both sweet and sour. The seeds are brown, somewhat flattened, and glossy.

A gap-free telomere-to-telomere genome assembly of *Tamarindus indica* was published in 2025. The genome is about 809.5 Mb in size, assembled across 12 pseudochromosomes, with a BUSCO completeness of 98.8% and 30,753 predicted protein-coding genes.

The name comes from the Arabic *tamr hindi*, meaning "Indian date." Early medieval herbalists and physicians used the term *tamar indi*, medieval Latin had *tamarindus*, and Marco Polo wrote of *tamarandi*.

In Southeast Asia, it is called *asam jawa* (Javanese sour fruit) or simply *asam*, and *sukaer* in Timor. In the Philippines, it is known as *sampalok* or *sampaloc* in Filipino, and *sambag* in Cebuano. In Thailand, it is called *makham*.

*Tamarindus indica* is native to tropical Africa, with botanical studies placing its domestication in the dry savannas of the Sudanian belt, from Sudan (especially Kordofan) westward across sub-Sahelian Africa. It has been cultivated so long on the Indian subcontinent that it is sometimes thought to be native there. It grows wild in Africa and in Oman, particularly Dhofar, on sea-facing mountain slopes. It likely reached South Asia through human transport and cultivation thousands of years ago. Today, it is widely distributed across the tropics, from Africa to South Asia and Australia. In Madagascar, its fruit and leaves are a favorite food of the ring-tailed lemur, providing up to 50 percent of their diet when available. In the 16th century, Spanish and Portuguese colonists introduced it to Mexico and Central America, and to a lesser extent South America, where it became a staple ingredient in regional cuisine.

Almost every part of the tamarind tree—wood, bark, flowers, leaves, pulp, and seeds—has environmental, commercial, or culinary uses. The trees are also planted as shade or ornamental trees, often along highways and in parks.

Raw tamarind fruit is 63% carbohydrates, 31% water, 3% protein, and 1% fat. In a 100-gram (3.5-ounce) serving, it provides 1,000 kilojoules (240 kilocalories) of energy and is a rich source of thiamine (36% DV) and the dietary minerals magnesium (22% DV) and potassium (21% DV).

The fruit is harvested by pulling the pod from its stalk. The hard green pulp of young fruit is used in savory dishes, as a pickling agent, or to make certain poisonous yams in Ghana safe to eat. As the fruit matures, it becomes sweeter and less sour; some sweet varieties have almost no acidity when ripe. Tamarind pulp is the most common part used in chutneys, curries, and sauces such as Worcestershire sauce, HP Sauce, some barbecue sauces, and the traditional sharbat syrup drink. Tamarind sweet chutney is popular in India and Pakistan as a dressing for snacks, often served with samosa. Across the Middle East, from the Levant to Iran, tamarind is used in savory dishes, especially meat-based stews, often combined with dried fruits for a sweet-sour flavor. During Ramadan, it is used to make a traditional beverage called "tamr-hindi."