Tamarind Spalted

(Tamarindus indica)

Africa

Native to tropical Africa, the tree grows wild throughout the Sudan and was so long ago introduced into India that it often reported as indigenous there and it was apparently from this Asiatic country that it reached the Persians and the Arabs who called it "tamar hindi" or “Indian date”, giving rise to both its common and generic names.

Tamarind is also referred to as Asam, Imli, Ma-Khamm and Sampaloc.

The sapwood is pale-yellow. The heartwood is rather small, dark purplish-brown, very hard, heavy, strong, durable and insect-resistant.

Spalting is a by-product of the rotting process that is carried out by a vast array of stain, mold and decay fungi, that are found naturally on the forest floor. When the temperature and humidity are right, spalting can cause many different and beautiful patterns in rotting wood. The unusual colouration may be due to chemically induced reactions between the wood, fungi and insect deposits, often resulting in black, pink, grey and multicoloured streaked wood.