Dialium indum

Dialium indum, the tamarind-plum,[3] is a tall, tropical, fruit-bearing tree. It belongs to the family Leguminosae, and has small, typically grape-sized edible fruits with brown hard inedible shells. No reports of cultivation exist, information on propagation is limited.

Dialium indum
Fruit
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
(unranked):
Angiosperms
(unranked):
Eudicots
(unranked):
Rosids
Order:
Fabales
Family:
Fabaceae
Subfamily:
Dialioideae[1]
Genus:
Dialium
Species:
D. indum
Binomial name
Dialium indum
Synonyms[2]
  • Dialium javanicum Burm.f.
  • Dialium laurinum Baker
  • Dialium marginatum de Wit
  • Dialium turbinatum de Wit

Distribution

Dialium indum is native to Thailand, Malaysia, Kalimantan, Java and Sumatra.[3]

Pepeta Pods

Uses

The bark and leaves have medicinal properties and are used against several diseases.

Fruit

The flavor of the fruit is similar to tamarind, where it derives its English name. Usually has a sweet-sour taste. Compared to tamarind, it is sweeter, dryer, powder-like and the shell is thicker.

The fruit is used as a candy-like snack food in Thailand, often dried, sugar-coated and spiced with chili. The dried fruit has a powdery texture, and is orange in color with a tangy flavor.

The fruit is also very popular in Côte d'Ivoire, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal.

Each fruit typically has one hard, flat, round, brown seed, typically 7-8 millimeters across and 3 millimeters thick. The seed somewhat resembles a watermelon seed (Citrullus lanatus). Some have two seeds. The seeds are shiny, coated with a thin layer of starch.

In Sarawak, Malaysia there are at least two varieties for sale in the local markets. Both have the same thin black brittle shell, and appear to be naturally dry unlike most fruits. One smaller kind is about one inch = 25 mm long and have a reddish-brown powder lightly packed around the single seed, with a small air space within the shell. This powder tastes sweet and sour just like the candy "sweet-tarts", and is thus closest to the tamarind. The second are bigger, about 1½ inch (38mm) long and look the same outside but are pretty different inside. There is more empty space in these and the pulp is 2–3 mm thick around the seed (sometimes 2 seeds), brown and a bit sticky, and tastes like a mixture of three parts good date, one part raisins, and one part wheat flour. There is locally also at least one more wild keranji, which is also of the powder sort, but too acid to enjoy.

References
  1. The Legume Phylogeny Working Group (LPWG). (2017). "A new subfamily classification of the Leguminosae based on a taxonomically comprehensive phylogeny". Taxon. 66 (1): 44–77. doi:10.12705/661.3.
  2. "Dialium indum L.". International Legume Database & Information Service (ILDIS). Retrieved 19 Mar 2016 – via The Plant List.
  3. "Dialium indum L." Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 19 Mar 2016.
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