Today I have a tree that most would know.. folks from India at least.
Its the Tamarind (Tamarindus indica ) of the Fabaceae family. It drops all its leaves in December or January and bursts into new foliage soon after. In the intense summer heat, the Tamarind flaunts fresh green leaves that offer a cool respite to any and everyone.
The feathery leaves are very pretty as are the yellow flowers that appear once it rains. I am told the flowers make an excellent chutney (though I have not yet tried it). The pods soon develop and its sour flesh is widely used in Indian cooking.
Tamarind is called Chincha in Marathi and Imli in Hindi. It makes a wonderful Bonsai but needs lot of care when it is repotted.
Here it is.
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| Pods |
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| Cool shade under the fresh green leaves! |
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This a common roadside tree in Pune but also seen in home gardens or parks. We have some beautiful huge old Tamarind trees that I use as landmarks!
I am joining Parul in her ThursdayTreeLove blog hop. Do head over to see some fantastic trees from all over the world. Better still, join in!
It's an interesting tree. At one time, our local supermarket in the Southern Tier of New York State sold tamarind pods. I never knew the flowers were also used in cooking. Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteThank you Alana!
ReplyDeleteAhaaa, Chinche cha jhaad...
ReplyDeleteIt's a treat to see imli pods on the tree, I so wish to pluck and eat them.
Thanks for sharing this khatta meetha tree in #TreeLove.
LOve it and reminds me of the tree I posted and all that Imli harvest. Thanks for joining, Archana. Hope you are well.
ReplyDelete@Panch Tatwa Girl Thanks a lot! Your words reminded me of the marathi song.. "he chinche che jhaad.."!! :-)
ReplyDelete@Parul. Thank you! Hope you are well too! Happy to be part of TTL!
ReplyDelete