The Fruits are pods from 6-12 inches long, straight, curved or bent, and about ¾ inch thick. They are cylindrical and have a smooth, shining, hard shell, dark brown in colour. The interior is divided transversely into a number of cells in which the brown, flattened seeds lie with their width in the direction of the pods’ length. The space on each side of the seeds is full of sticky matter and the pod has an objectionable odour, and persists for a long time on the tree, not splitting.
Uses.—A concoction from the pods is used as a fish poison.
TAMARINDUS INDICA Linn.—Tsamiya. “Tamarind Tree.” LEGUMINOSAE.
One of the commonest species of the north, in park formations, farm lands and open country round towns. It thrives on poor soils, big specimens growing on loose sand and shallow laterite. It is readily identified from a distance by its very dense, dark, compact crown, which may be oval or cylindrical with a pointed top, and uniformly dense down to within a few feet of the ground. It has as a rule a short, stout bole, 6-8 feet in girth, often divided a few feet from the level of the ground into two or three large limbs, with short, gnarled and crooked branches and a dense thicket of twigs. This compact form is more common farther north, southern specimens showing a higher, wider, and more umbrella-shaped crown. It averages 40-50 feet high. It is to be seen at times growing in a curious manner in small clumps of four or five stems on a raised earthy mound, possibly an old ant hill or an accumulation of earth held up by the close-growing stems. There is a very considerable leaf-fall and little grows beneath its shade. A quite common association is that of this species with Adansonia digitata, the Tamarind in this case embracing the other with long, sinuous limbs to a considerable height, and having no main stem.
The Bark is light grey with even-sized, thick scales about 1 inch square. These scales extend to the ends of the branches, getting smaller and more regular, still thick and hard, with a considerable resemblance to the bark of the Shea Butter Tree. The youngest trees show this bark. The slash is pale red with a yellow outer layer.
The Wood. The heartwood is dark brown, almost purple-brown, the sapwood pale yellow. In transverse section the pores are large, in groups and festoons, the contents nearly filling them, and they are numerous and the soft tissue occupies a large percentage of the wood. The rays are very fine and close, not visible to the naked eye. The wood is tough, very hard, heavy, cross-grained, blunts axes, saws with difficulty and picks up under the plane, which will give a hard finish, taking a polish. It is liable to crack in seasoning. The weight is 58 lbs. a cubic foot.
The Leaves are pinnate, from 4-6 inches long with 10-12 pairs of dull dark green leaflets, strap-like and notched at the tip. They have a grey bloom and are waxy to the touch.
The Flowers are in slender, drooping panicles and are 1 inch across with 4 yellow sepals, 3 orange-veined petals, 3 stamens and a hairy ovary and pistil. They appear from December onwards.