Common names:

• Indian tamarind  (Source: Pl Res SEAs) - English
• kilytree  (Source: Bot Mag) - English
• tamarind  (Source: World Econ Pl) - English
• tamarin  (Source: Trop Leg) - French
• tamarindier  (Source: Trop Leg) - French
• tamarinier  (Source: Trop Leg) - French
• Tamarinde  (Source: pers. comm.) - German
• Tamarindenbaum  (Source: Dict Rehm) - German
• tamarindeiro  (Source: Leg WorldEc) - Portuguese
• tâmara-da-Índia  (Source: pers. comm.) - Portuguese (Brazil)
• tamarinda  (Source: pers. comm.) - Portuguese (Brazil)
• tamarindo  (Source: pers. comm.) - Portuguese (Brazil)
• tamarindo-do-Egito  (Source: pers. comm.) - Portuguese (Brazil)
• tamarino  (Source: pers. comm.) - Portuguese (Brazil)
• tamarindo  (Source: pers. comm.) - Spanish
• tamarind  (Source: Kulturvaxtdatabas) - Swedish

Economic Importance:

• Food additives: flavoring (fide Ency CNatIn; Food Feed Crops US; Bot Mag 14:235-237. 1997)
• Environmental: ornamental (fide Dict Gard)
• Environmental: shade/shelter (fide Bot Mag 14:233. 1997)
• Human food: beverage base (fide Ency CNatIn)
• Human food: fruit (fide Ency CNatIn)
• Fuels: charcoal (fide Trop Leg; Plant Trees)
• Materials: beads (fide Bot Beads World; as http://www.botanicalbeads.com/BBB_page_68.html,)
• Medicines: folklore (fide CRC MedHerbs ed2; Herbs Commerce ed2)

Distributional Range:

Native

Africa

• MACARONESIA: Cape Verde
• NORTHEAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Chad, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen [Socotra]
• EAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda
• WEST-CENTRAL TROPICAL AFRICA: Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Zaire
• WEST TROPICAL AFRICA: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote D'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo
• SOUTH TROPICAL AFRICA: Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe
• WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN: Madagascar

Asia-Temperate

• ARABIAN PENINSULA: Yemen


Cultivated (widely cult.)

References:

1. Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource on www.skud.info). 2012 (Kulturvaxtdatabas)
2. Arechavaleta, M. et al., eds. Lista preliminar de especies silvestres de Cabo Verde: hongos, plantas y animales terrestres. 2005 (L Cabo Verde)
3. Du Puy, D. 1997. The Leguminosae of Madagascar Bot. Mag. 14:235-237.
4. Duke, J. A. Handbook of legumes of world economic importance. 1981 (Leg WorldEc)
5. Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. (pers. comm.)
6. Huxley, A., ed. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening. 1992 (Dict Gard)
7. León, B. 1995. pers. comm. (pers. comm.)
8. León, B. 2009. pers. comm. (pers. comm.)
9. Leung, A. Y. & S. Foster Encyclopedia of common natural ingredients used in food, drugs, and cosmetics, ed. 2. 1996 (Ency CNatIn) 484.
10. Lock, J. M. Legumes of Africa: a checklist. 1989 (Leg Africa)
11. McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker Herbs of commerce, ed. 2. 2000 (Herbs Commerce ed2)
12. National Academy of Sciences Tropical legumes: resources for the future. 1979 (Trop Leg)
13. Rehm, S. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants. 1994 (Dict Rehm)
14. Reichel, S. 1998. pers. comm. (pers. comm.)
15. Smith, R. J. Botanical beads of the world (on-line resource). (Bot Beads World)
16. Verheij, E. W. M. & R. E. Coronel, eds. 1991. Edible fruits and nuts (Pl Res SEAs) 2:298.
17. Wood, J. R. I. A handbook of the Yemen flora. (F Yemen)

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN-Taxonomy).
National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. URL: http://germoplasma.iniaf.gob.bo/gringlobal/taxonomydetail.aspx?id=36219. Accessed 7 junio 2026.