Lysiloma latisiliquum
Wild Tamarind, False Tamarind
- Family: Fabaceae
- Form: : Large evergreen tree reaching 30-50 ft. with an open irregular form and a horizontal branching habit.
- Leaves: Bi-pinnately compound, alternate. Leaflets: entire, linear, oblong or oblong-lanceolate, glabrous, found in pairs of 10-20.
- Stem/Bark: Smooth light gray on immature trees, becoming dark brown and splitting into large plates on large mature trees.
- Flower: White, multi-staminate, globose head.
- Fruit: A thin flattened pod, approximately 6 inches. long and 1.5 inches wide. Seeds are dark brown and about 0.5 inches long.
- Comments: Wild Tamarind makes and excellent shade tree for south Florida. It is very fast growing, drought tolerant and has low nutritional requirements. A similar non-native species, Lysiloma sabicu is also found in south Florida, Miami-Dade County, but distinguished by the leaves that have larger, fewer ovate leaflets. Wild Tamarind is host to a number of butterflies including the Cassius Blue butterfly, Leptotes cassius.
- Additional Resources:
UF IFAS Extension Native Plant Fact Sheet Listings
The Institute for Regional Conservation Link
