Tamarind - Tamarindus indica

Delicious summer fruit in Baja. I love eating them fresh most of all. We have a slightly more sweet variety and a more sour variety (both have hints of sour) but the sour one I just use for tamarind paste in soups and the like and the sweet one I eat like dates off the tree. Harvest these gummy tasty treats when the shell cracks when you squeeze it. Like other bean family trees, the leaves of this tree make wonderful mulch for the soil. And being a cousin to our beloved tabuchin, it can grow into a wonderful shade tree as well. Fruits from June through September.