Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) is a leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is indigenous to tropical Africa and naturalized in Asia.

The tamarind tree produces brown, pod-like fruits that contain a sweet, tangy pulp, which is used in cuisines around the world.

The tamarind is a long-living, medium-growth tree, which attains a maximum crown height of 25 metres (80 feet).

Flowers are 2.5 cm (1 in) wide, five-petalled, borne in small racemes, and yellow with orange or red streaks.

In Colombia, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Italy, Spain, and throughout the Lusosphere, it is called tamarindo.

[20] It grows wild in Africa in locales as diverse as Sudan,[20] [citation needed] Cameroon, Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia, Somalia, Tanzania and Malawi.

[23] The consumption of tamarind is widespread due to its central role in the cuisines of the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and the Americas, especially Mexico.

The hard green pulp of a young fruit is considered by many to be too sour, but is often used as a component of savory dishes, as a pickling agent or as a means of making certain poisonous yams in Ghana safe for human consumption.

Tamarind paste has many culinary uses including as a flavoring for chutneys, curries, and the traditional sharbat syrup drink.

[31] Tamarind sweet chutney is popular in India and Pakistan[32] as a dressing for many snacks and often served with samosa.

Tamarind pulp is a key ingredient in flavoring curries and rice in south Indian cuisine, in the Chigali lollipop, in rasam, Koddel and in certain varieties of masala chai.

Across the Middle East, from the Levant to Iran, tamarind is used in savory dishes, notably meat-based stews, and often combined with dried fruits to achieve a sweet-sour tang.

In Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean, the pulp is diluted with water and sugared to make an agua fresca drink.

In Sokoto, Nigeria, tamarind pulp is used to fix the color in dyed leather products by neutralizing the alkali substances used in tanning.

[38] Blanched, tender tamarind leaves are used in a Burmese salad called magyi ywet thoke (မန်ကျည်းရွက်သုပ်; lit.

[42] Tamarind kernel powder is used as sizing material for textile and jute processing, and in the manufacture of industrial gums and adhesives.

[citation needed] Throughout Southeast Asia, the fruit of the tamarind is used as a poultice applied to the foreheads of people with fevers.

[43][44] Extract of steamed and sun-dried old tamarind pulp in Java (asem kawa) are used to treat skin problems like rashes and irritation; it can also be ingested after dilution as an abortifacient.

[citation needed] The tamarind has long been naturalized in Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, the Caribbean, and Pacific Islands.

[52] In Madagascar, its fruit and leaves are a well-known favorite of the ring-tailed lemur, providing as much as 50 percent of their food resources during the year if available.

[53] Throughout South Asia and the tropical world, tamarind trees are used as ornamental, garden, and cash crop plantings.