View source for Pithecellobium dulce

{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
<!-- "Inga lanceolata" should redirect to Pithecellobium lanceolatumi and disambiguate here from that article -->
<!-- "Mimosa unguis-cati" should redirect to Pithecellobium unguis-cati and disambiguate here from that article -->
{{Speciesbox
| image = Tree I IMG 2896.jpg
| image_alt = ''Pithecellobium dulce (Madras Thorn)'' tree
| image_caption = In [[Kolkata]], [[West Bengal]] ([[India]])
| image2 = Pithecellobium dulce beans.JPG
| image2_alt = 
| image2_caption = Ripe ''Pithecellobium dulce'' bean
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref>{{cite iucn |author=Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) |author2=IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group |date=2019 |title=''Pithecellobium dulce'' |page=e.T130519803A149057978 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T130519803A149057978.en |access-date=14 December 2022}}</ref>
| status2 = G5
| status2_system = TNC
| status2_ref = <ref name="TNC">{{cite web|url= https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.161561/Pithecellobium_dulce |title=''Pithecellobium dulce'' Guama Americano |work=NatureServe Explorer |publisher=NatureServe |access-date=2020-01-10}}</ref>
| genus = Pithecellobium
| species = dulce
| authority = ([[William Roxburgh|Roxb.]]) [[George Bentham|Benth.]]<ref name="GRIN">{{GRIN | access-date=2010-03-29}}</ref>
}}

'''''Pithecellobium dulce''''', commonly known as '''Manila tamarind''', '''Madras thorn''', '''monkeypod tree''' or '''camachile''',<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hiwale |first1=Shrikant |chapter=Non Traditional Crops: Manila Tamarind (Tamarindus indica L.) |title=Sustainable Horticulture in Semiarid Dry Lands |date=2015 |pages=273–277 |doi=10.1007/978-81-322-2244-6_20 |isbn=978-81-322-2243-9 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Camachile |url=https://www.thefreedictionary.com/camachile |website=The Free Dictionary |access-date=27 May 2020}}</ref> is a species of [[flowering plant]] in the pea family, [[Fabaceae]], that is native to the Pacific Coast and adjacent highlands of Mexico, Central America, and northern South America.<ref name="GRIN"/> It is also sometimes known as '''monkeypod''', but that name is also used for several other plants, including ''[[Samanea saman]]''.<ref>{{PLANTS|id=PIDU|taxon=Pithecellobium dulce|access-date=6 October 2015}}</ref> It is an [[introduced species]] and extensively naturalized in the Caribbean and [[Florida]], as well as the Philippines and [[Guam]] via the [[Manila galleons]]. It has also been introduced to Cambodia, Thailand and South Asia,<ref name=Ceylon>{{cite book |last=Trimen |first=Henry |date=1894 |title=Flora of Ceylon |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/104544#page/145/mode/1up |volume=2 |location=London |publisher=Dulau & Co. |pages=131–132 |doi=10.5962/bhl.title.10864 }}</ref><ref name=Pakistan>{{cite journal |last1=Khanzada |first1=Samina Kabir |last2=Kabir |first2=Amina |last3=Shaikh |first3=Wazir |last4=Ali |first4=Syed Abid |date=April 2013 |title=Phytochemical studies on Pithecellobium dulce Benth. A medicinal plant of Sindh, Pakistan |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/287233362 |journal=Pakistan Journal of Botany |volume=45 |issue=2 |pages=557–561 |access-date=19 July 2018}}</ref> It is considered an [[invasive species]] in [[Hawaii]].

== Description ==
''Pithecellobium dulce'' is a tree that reaches a height of about {{convert|10|to|15|m|ft|abbr=on}}.  Its trunk is spiny and up to nine meters in girth (9.4 feet thick DBH) and its leaves are [[Pinnate|bipinnate]]. Each pinna has a single pair of ovate-oblong [[leaflet (botany)|leaflets]] that are about {{convert|2|to|4|cm|in|abbr=on}} long. The flowers are greenish-white, fragrant, sessile and reach about {{convert|12|cm|in|abbr=on}} in length, though appear shorter due to coiling. The flowers produce a [[Legume|pod]], which turns pink when ripe and opens to expose the seed arils; a pink or white, edible pulp. The pulp contains black shiny seeds that are circular and flat. Pollen is a polyad of many pollen grains stitched together. [[File:Madras-thorn3.jpg|thumb|Pollen of Pithecellobium dulce]]

The seed is [[Seed dispersal#By animals|dispersed]] via birds that feed on the sweet pulp. The tree is [[Drought tolerance|drought resistant]] and can survive in dry lands from sea level to an elevation of {{convert|1500|m|ft|abbr=on}}, making it suitable for cultivation as a street tree.

== Vernacular names ==
[[File:Pithecellobium_dulce_in_Swargate%2C_Pune_.jpg|thumb|''Pithecellobium dulce'' in [[Swargate]], [[Pune]], [[India]] ]]

The English names "Manila tamarind" and "Madras thorn" are both misleading since it is neither related to the [[tamarind]] nor native to [[Manila]] (though it was introduced early to the Philippines) or [[Madras]]. Other English names include blackbead, sweet Inga, and monkeypod.<ref name="GRIN"/>

Depending on the region of its occurrence, ''Pithecellobium dulce'' is known by different names. In its native Mexico, the tree is known as {{lang|es|huamuche}}, {{lang|es|guamuche}}, {{lang|es|huamúchil}}, {{lang|es|guamúchil}}, or {{lang|es|cuamúchil}}, deriving from its [[Nahuatl]] name {{lang|nah|cuauhmochitl}}. The Nahuatl derivations are also preserved in its names in the Philippines, where it was first introduced into Asia via the [[Manila galleons]]. It is known as {{lang|tl|kamachile}} in [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]] (from where the English name "camachile" is derived), {{lang|hil|kamunsil}} in [[Hiligaynon language|Hiligaynon]], and {{lang|ilo|damortis}} or {{lang|ilo|kamantiris}} in [[Ilokano language|Ilokano]].<ref name="Elsevier">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yjc5ZYWtkNAC |title=Elsevier's Dictionary of Trees: With Names in Latin, English, French, Spanish and Other Languages |first=Miroslav M. |last=Grandtner |volume=1 |publisher=Elsevier |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-444-51784-5 |pages=670–671}}</ref>

In the wider region of Latin America, it is also called {{lang|es|pinzán}}, or {{lang|es|guamá americano}} ([[Puerto Rico]]). In Colombia it is known as {{lang|es|chiminango}} and {{lang|es|payandé}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://elsemillero.net/nuevo/semillas/payande.html|title=Guía de Reforestación|access-date=2020-06-21|website=elsemillero.net|archive-date=2021-05-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508224153/https://elsemillero.net/nuevo/semillas/payande.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> It is also known as {{lang|haw|{{okina}}opiuma}} in ([[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]]).<ref name="Elsevier"/>

In South Asia and the rest of Southeast Asia, it is known by many names, most of which literally translate to "foreign tamarind". These include: {{transliteration|th|makham thet}} in [[Thai language|Thai]]; {{transliteration|km|plaeh umpel tek}} in [[Khmer language|Khmer]]; {{transliteration|ta|kona puliyangai}} in the Kongu region and {{transliteration|ta|kodukkappuli}} in other regions of [[Tamil Nadu]]; {{transliteration|te|ISO|sīma cintakāya}} or {{transliteration|te|ISO|sīma tummakāya}} in [[Telugu language|Telugu]]; {{transliteration|kn|dora hunase}} or {{transliteration|kn|sīme hunase}} in [[Kannada language|Kannada]]; {{transliteration|gu|bakhai ambli}} or {{transliteration|gu|goras amali ,katra}} in [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]]; {{transliteration|mr|vilayati cinc}} or ''cinc bilai'' or ''cheese bilai'' in [[Marathi language|Marathi]]; {{transliteration|hi|jungle jalebi}} in [[Hindi]];<ref>{{cite book |author=Subodh Kumar Maiti |title=Ecorestoration of the Coalmine Degraded Lands |year=2012 |page=144 |publisher=Springer |isbn=9788132208518 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jX9EAAAAQBAJ&dq=jalebi+hindi+Pithecellobium&pg=PA144 }}</ref> {{transliteration|or|sīma kaiyan}} in [[Odia language|Odia]]; {{transliteration|sd|achi gidamiri}} in [[Sindhi language|Sindhi]]; and {{transliteration|bn|jilapi}} in [[Bengali language|Bengali]]. In Pakistan, it is also known as "jungle jalebi", after the resemblance of its fruits to the [[jalebi]].

== Uses ==

=== As food ===
The seed pods contain a sweet and sour pulp which is eaten raw in Mexico, the Philippines,<ref>{{cite web |title=Camachile / Guamachil /Manila Tamarind |url=http://www.marketmanila.com/archives/camachile-guamachil-manila-tamarind |website=Market Manila |date=14 May 2005 |access-date=27 May 2020}}</ref> Pakistan, Qatar and India<ref name=Parrotta>{{cite report |first=John A. |last=Parrotta |date=January 1991 |title=Pithecellobium dulce (Roxb.) Benth. Guamuchil, Madras thorn. Leguminosae (Mimosoideae.) Legume family. |url=https://www.fs.fed.us/global/iitf/pubs/sm_iitf040%20%20%285%29.pdf |publisher=USDA Forest Service, Southern Forest Experiment Station, Institute of Tropical Forestry |location=New Orleans, LA |docket=SO-ITF-SM-40 |access-date=17 July 2018}}</ref> as an accompaniment to various meat dishes and used as a base for drinks with sugar and water ('agua de guamúchil').

The seeds are said to be eaten (locally?) in the 'Revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon' (1980), edited by M.D. Dassanayake (this information is not in the original 'Flora of Ceylon' of 1894).<ref name=Ceylon/><ref name=Parrotta/>

A number of studies since the 1980s have investigated the composition and possible uses of the seeds; it has been demonstrated that the seeds can be processed to extract a greenish oil, which when refined and analysed consists of potentially edible [[fatty acids]] (the precise composition varies depending on the study, but all agree [[oleic acid]] and [[palmitic acid]] are common, which is to be expected).<ref name=Parrotta/><ref name=PlantFAdb>{{cite web |url=https://plantfadb.org/plants/10708 |title=PlantFAdb Pithecellobium dulce - Monkeypod |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2016 |website=plantfadb.org |publisher=Max Rubner-Institute & Michigan State University |access-date=19 July 2018}}</ref> Oils amount to 10<ref name=Parrotta/>-17%<ref name=PlantFAdb/> of the weight of the seeds. The seeds also contain 30<ref name=Parrotta/>-37.5<ref name=PlantFAdb/>-67.11%<ref name=Pakistan/> protein, which researchers suggest might in the future be used as animal feed.<ref name=Pakistan/><ref name=Parrotta/>

=== As traditional medicine ===
The bark is used as an [[astringent]]<ref name="conabio.gob.mx">Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity: ''Pithecellobium Dulce'': http://www.conabio.gob.mx/conocimiento/info_especies/arboles/doctos/45-legum38m.pdf</ref> for [[dysentery]] in India.{{citation needed|date=November 2019}}

It is said to have been used as an [[antipyretic]] in India (information originally from 1933),<ref name=Parrotta/>{{Citation needed|date=November 2019}} used for eye inflammation,{{Citation needed|date=November 2019}} although an anecdote from Sri Lanka claims the bark contains a substance that causes eye infections and swelling of the eyelids.<ref name=Parrotta/>

The [[Huastec people]] of northern [[Veracruz]] and [[San Luis Potosí]] in Mexico used different parts of the tree to treat gum ailments, [[toothache]] and cancer.<ref name=Parrotta/><ref name="conabio.gob.mx"/><ref>{{cite book |last=Alcorn |first=Janis B. |date=1984 |title=Huastec Mayan Ethnobotany |location=Austin |publisher=University of Texas Press |isbn=978-0292715431}}</ref>

The leaves are said to be used in a [[poultice]] with alcohol to treat bile,<ref name="conabio.gob.mx"/> as well as being used to prevent abortions/[[miscarriage]],<ref name="conabio.gob.mx"/> although the leaves are also said to be used to cause abortions.<ref name=Pakistan/>{{medical citation needed|date=October 2015}}

The pulp from the fruits is said to be astringent and [[hemostatic]], and used for [[hemoptysis]].<ref name="conabio.gob.mx"/>{{medical citation needed|date=October 2015}}

The ground seed is sometimes traditionally used to clean [[ulcers]].<ref name="conabio.gob.mx"/>

Non-specified parts of the plant are said to be used extract is also used against [[hemorrhages]], chronic [[diarrhea]], and [[tuberculosis]].<ref name="conabio.gob.mx"/>{{medical citation needed|date=October 2015}}

== Ecology ==
''Pithecellobium dulce'' is a host plant for the [[caterpillar]]s of the Common nawab (''[[Polyura athamas]]''), three-spot grass yellow (''[[Eurema blanda]]''), Bright babul blue (''[[Azanus ubaldus]]'') and several moths.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=1646 |title=Red-bordered Pixie ''Melanis pixe'' (Boisduval, 1836) |publisher=Butterflies and Moths of North America |access-date=2010-09-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090505100809/http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=1646 |archive-date=2009-05-05 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Synonyms ==
[[File:Pithecellobium dulce, Fort Canning.jpg|thumb|''Pithecellobium dulce'', Heritage Tree, Madras Thorn, Fort Canning, Singapore]]

''Pithecellobium dulce'' is known under numerous [[junior synonym]]s:<ref>International Legume Database & Information Service (ILDIS) (2005): [https://ildis.org/cgi-bin/Araneus.pl?version~10.01&LegumeWeb&tno~152&genus~Pithecellobium&species~dulce ''Pithecellobium dulce'']. Version 10.01, November 2005. Retrieved 25 July 2018.</ref>
* ''Acacia obliquifolia'' <small>M.Martens & Galeotti</small>
* ''Albizia dulcis'' <small>(Roxb.) F.Muell.</small>
* ''Feuilleea dulcis'' <small>(Roxb.) Kuntze</small>
* ''Inga camatchili'' <small>Perr.</small>
* ''Inga dulcis'' <small>(Roxb.) Willd.</small>
* ''Inga javana'' <small>DC.</small>
* ''Inga javanica'' <small>DC.</small>
* ''Inga lanceolata'' <small>''sensu'' Blanco</small>
* ''Inga lanceolata'' <small>Willd.</small> is ''Pithecellobium lanceolatum''
* ''Inga leucantha'' <small>C.Presl</small>
* ''Inga pungens'' <small>Willd.</small>
* ''Mimosa dulcis'' <small>Roxb.</small>
* ''Mimosa edulis'' <small>Gagnep.</small>
* ''Mimosa pungens'' <small>(Willd.) Poir.</small>
* ''Mimosa unguis-cati'' <small>Blanco</small>
* ''Mimosa unguis-cati'' <small>L.</small> is ''Pithecellobium unguis-cati''
* ''Pithecellobium littorale'' <small>Record</small>
* ''Pithecollobium dulce'' <small>(Roxb.) Benth. (''[[lapsus]]'')</small>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
*{{Commons category-inline}}
*{{Wikispecies-inline}}
*[https://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=PIDU USDA Plants Profile: ''Pithecellobium dulce'']
*[http://www.stuartxchange.org/Kamatsile.html Kamatsile: ''Pithecellobium dulce'']
*[http://www.hear.org/Pier/species/pithecellobium_dulce.htm PIER species: ''Pithecellobium dulce'']
*[http://www.tradewindsfruit.com/manila_tamarind.htm Manila Tamarind: ''Pithecellobium dulce'']
*[http://www.conabio.gob.mx/conocimiento/info_especies/arboles/doctos/45-legum38m.pdf Mexican Government's Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity: Pithecellobium dulce]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q15248750}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Pithecellobium|dulce]]
[[Category:Flora of Mexico]]
[[Category:Flora of Central America]]
[[Category:Flora of Colombia]]
[[Category:Flora of Venezuela]]
[[Category:Plants described in 1844]]
[[Category:Medicinal plants of North America]]
[[Category:Edible legumes]]