Tamarind

Tamarindus indica

When: Typically December – April — December, January, February, March, April. Earlier in warm, low country; later in the hills.
Where it grows: Dry savanna, riverbanks and village squares from Senegal to Sudan and down the east of the continent; a favourite shade tree, often very old.
How to know it: A big, dense, evergreen tree with feathery leaves of many small paired leaflets (no single leaflet at the tip) and small yellow flowers streaked with orange or red. The fruit is a brown, slightly curved pod with a thin, brittle shell over sticky, brown, sweet-sour pulp and one to six glossy brown seeds; African pods are the short kind.
Look-alikes: Other savanna pods are the confusion. A tamarind pod has a thin, brittle, cinnamon-brown shell that cracks under your thumb over sticky pulp; pods that are woody, flat, papery or hairy belong to something else.
Harvest and use: Crack the shell and eat the pulp off the seeds, or soak a handful in water, strain and sweeten it: tamarind drinks are made from Sudan and Egypt across West Africa and down the East African coast. A little goes into porridge. Young leaves, flowers and baby pods are pleasantly sour and used as seasoning.
Caution: The pulp is laxative in quantity. The seeds are edible only after soaking and boiling.

Tamarind at a glance

Also called: Tamarindo; in Arabic tamr hindi, 'Indian date', which gave the English name
Family: Fabaceae (the pea and bean family)
Where it grows: Native to tropical Africa, with its greatest diversity in the savannas from Senegal to Sudan. It grows wild across that savanna belt from the Atlantic to the far edge of Central Africa, and down the east of the continent through Ethiopia, Eritrea, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and Zimbabwe to Madagascar. Planted for shade and fruit almost everywhere warm.
When to pick: The dry season. The tree flowers with its new leaves and needs a long, well-marked dry season to set fruit; heavy crops usually come every other year. Pods are ripe when the shell is brown and brittle and the pulp sticky and brown, and fully ripe fruit can hang on the tree for up to six months without spoiling.
Parts used: Pulp (raw, in drinks, porridge and sauces); young leaves, flowers and baby pods as a sour seasoning; seeds only after soaking and boiling, then roasted or ground.
Is any of it poisonous?: Nothing poisonous in normal use. The pulp is laxative in quantity, and the seeds are inedible until soaked and boiled to remove the seed coat.

Questions people ask about tamarind

Where is tamarind native?

Tropical Africa. It has been grown in India for so long that it is sometimes taken for an Indian plant, but its origin and greatest diversity are in the African savannas from Senegal to Sudan, where it still grows wild.

When is tamarind ripe?

When the thin shell has turned brown and brittle and cracks easily, and the pulp inside is soft, sticky and brown. Pods ripen through the dry season and can stay on the tree for months.

Can you eat tamarind seeds?

Only after soaking and boiling them to remove the seed coat; then they can be roasted or ground into flour. Don't eat them raw.

How is tamarind used in Africa?

Above all as a drink: tamarind-ade is made in Sudan, Egypt, West Africa and on the East African coast. In West Africa a little tamarind goes into the millet porridge called toh, and in Uganda into millet porridge too.

Found in these regions

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Checked against these sources · last reviewed October 2026

Seasons are typical for the middle of the range and move by weeks north and south, and up and down hills.

Educational information only. Never eat a wild plant or mushroom identified from a single photograph or description — confirm with a regional field guide or an experienced forager, and know the poisonous species in your area first.

Tamarind

Tamarindus indica

When

Typically December – April — December, January, February, March, April. Earlier in warm, low country; later in the hills.

Where it grows

Dry savanna, riverbanks and village squares from Senegal to Sudan and down the east of the continent; a favourite shade tree, often very old.

How to know it

A big, dense, evergreen tree with feathery leaves of many small paired leaflets (no single leaflet at the tip) and small yellow flowers streaked with orange or red. The fruit is a brown, slightly curved pod with a thin, brittle shell over sticky, brown, sweet-sour pulp and one to six glossy brown seeds; African pods are the short kind.

Look-alikes

Other savanna pods are the confusion. A tamarind pod has a thin, brittle, cinnamon-brown shell that cracks under your thumb over sticky pulp; pods that are woody, flat, papery or hairy belong to something else.

Harvest and use

Crack the shell and eat the pulp off the seeds, or soak a handful in water, strain and sweeten it: tamarind drinks are made from Sudan and Egypt across West Africa and down the East African coast. A little goes into porridge. Young leaves, flowers and baby pods are pleasantly sour and used as seasoning.

Caution

The pulp is laxative in quantity. The seeds are edible only after soaking and boiling.

Tamarind at a glance

Also called

Tamarindo; in Arabic tamr hindi, 'Indian date', which gave the English name

Family

Fabaceae (the pea and bean family)

Where it grows

Native to tropical Africa, with its greatest diversity in the savannas from Senegal to Sudan. It grows wild across that savanna belt from the Atlantic to the far edge of Central Africa, and down the east of the continent through Ethiopia, Eritrea, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and Zimbabwe to Madagascar. Planted for shade and fruit almost everywhere warm.

When to pick

The dry season. The tree flowers with its new leaves and needs a long, well-marked dry season to set fruit; heavy crops usually come every other year. Pods are ripe when the shell is brown and brittle and the pulp sticky and brown, and fully ripe fruit can hang on the tree for up to six months without spoiling.

Parts used

Pulp (raw, in drinks, porridge and sauces); young leaves, flowers and baby pods as a sour seasoning; seeds only after soaking and boiling, then roasted or ground.

Is any of it poisonous?

Nothing poisonous in normal use. The pulp is laxative in quantity, and the seeds are inedible until soaked and boiled to remove the seed coat.

Questions people ask about tamarind