Tonka bean tree

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Tonka bean tree
Tonka beans

Tonka beans

Systematics
Order : Fabales (Fabales)
Family : Legumes (Fabaceae)
Subfamily : Butterflies (Faboideae)
Tribe : Dipterygeae
Genre : Dipteryx
Type : Tonka bean tree
Scientific name
Dipteryx odorata
( Aubl. ) Willd.
Dipteryx odorata Sarrapia

The dipteryx odorata ( Dipteryx odorata ), also Toncabaum or Sarrapia called, is a species of the genus Dipteryx in the subfamily of Schmetterlingsblütler (Faboideae) within the family of the Leguminosae (Fabaceae). It occurs in northern South America . A cultivation takes place in South America, Trinidad and in tropical Africa . The seeds of this species are tonka beans ( english Dutch tonka-bean called) and used in the kitchen; there are also the terms Toncabeans, Tongo beans or Tonkobeans.

False tonka beans ( English tonka-bean ) come from Taralea oppositifolia (small tonka tree), Taralea cordata , these are smaller. So-called dotted tonka beans Dipteryx punctata as well as Dipteryx rosea and Dipterix polyphylla , Dipteryx alata also provide beans containing coumarin . The seeds of Amburana cearensis are also used as a substitute for tonka beans .

The wood is known as Cumarú or Brazilian teak and is very popular.

The word "tonka" is taken from the Galibi ( Carib ) language spoken by the natives of French Guiana ; it also appears in Tupi , another language of the same region as the name of the tree. The old generic name, Coumarouna , was formed from another Tupi name for "tree", "cumarú".

description

Vegetative characteristics

The tonka bean tree grows up to 25-30 meters high, with a trunk diameter of up to one meter. The bark is initially smooth and spotty, later furrowed and greyish, while the wood is reddish-brown.

The tree has alternate, imparipinnate, stalked leaves up to 20 cm long and 8 cm wide, with 3 to 8 ovate to elliptical or obovate, occasionally uneven, leathery, shiny and dark green leaves . The rhachis is slightly winged and extending into an extension at the tip. The leaflets are short stalked, with entire margins and acuminate to pointed. The veins are finely pinnate.

It prefers shady locations with high humidity, it tolerates nutrient-poor, permeable soils, but thrives best on soils rich in humus. It is a calcifuge (Kalkmeider) and forms buttress roots .

Tonka fruit

Generative characteristics

The many-flowered, paniculate inflorescences are about 5–9 cm long. The small, fragrant, white, pink and hermaphrodite butterfly flowers are zygomorphic with two brownish, winged sepals. The 10 stamens are fused in two bundles and Dipteryx odorata is pollinated by insects .

Each developed egg-shaped to ellipsoidal, initially green, later brownish, smooth stone fruit 5–10 cm long and 3–6 cm wide, contains an almond-shaped, hard, leathery-woody, reddish-brown, around 3–5 cm long and 1– 2 cm wide seed that lies in a fibrous pericarp . The core consists of two oily, cream-colored cotyledons between which coumarin layers are stored. The little yellow pulp is sticky and tasteless, with a bad odor.

The dried, dark brown to black seed with a wrinkled surface is known as the tonka bean . Tonka beans are highly aromatic, have a sweet smell and are reminiscent of vanilla and woodruff in their aroma .

The worst pests are the bats, but also birds (parrots), because they eat the pulpy flesh, but this is also the same time the zoochoren dissemination of seeds (Dysochorie). Some known fungi can cause problems: Anthostomella abdita , Diatrype ruficarnis , Macrophoma calvuligera, and Myiocopron cubense . The seeds cannot be germinated like most rainforest seeds, they are only viable for a short time and have no “dormant period”. Propagation is achieved through marcottage , budding and cuttings.

distribution

The wide natural range extends from Venezuela to French Guiana, Guyana and Suriname and the Brazilian states of eastern Amazon , northern Mato Grosso and Pará to Colombia and eastern Peru . Cultivation takes place in Kenya , Nigeria , Trinidad , Venezuela and Brazil . The seeds of the tonka tree found their way to Europe in the late 18th century and the tonka tree was grown in greenhouses in France.

Taxonomy

It was first published in 1775 under the name ( Basionym ) by Jean Baptiste Christophe Fusée Aublet in Coumarouna odorata in Histoire des Plantes de la Guiane Françoise , 2, pp. 740-742, plate 296. The new combination was made in 1802 by Carl Ludwig von Willdenow in Species Plantarum , 4th ed., 3, 2, p. 910 published. Other synonyms for Dipteryx odorata (Aubl.) Willd. are: Coumarouna tetraphylla (Benth.) Aubl. , Dipteryx tetraphylla Benth.

use

Tonka beans

Tonka beans have a sweetish, slightly bitter taste similar to vanilla and are therefore used as a vanilla substitute. As a spice they are used very sparingly in desserts , which are often based on poppy seeds or coconut , and they are also used in pastries. The tonka beans as a spice have been rediscovered by top gastronomy. They are very hard and are best rubbed with a nutmeg grater or 1–2 beans boiled with one liter of milk for about 10 minutes and left to stand overnight. For cream-based or milk-based desserts, the beans are boiled for about ten minutes (they can be used up to ten times). They can also be pickled in rum . Because of the content of coumarin (two to three percent), which is suspected to be carcinogenic, the use has decreased. Tonka bean oil is also made from it.

The use of the tonka bean for preparation in food was temporarily prohibited in Germany from 1981. This ban has existed in a restricted form since 1991. The use of the tonka bean is only permitted if the maximum permitted values ​​for coumarin in the prepared food are not exceeded. As a toxin, according to the Flavor Regulation EC 1334/2008, coumarin is one of the substances that may not be added to food as such (Annex III, Part A of the Flavor Regulation) and is subject to certain maximum quantities if it occurs naturally in flavors or food ingredients with flavor properties (Annex III, part B). Depending on the type of food, the maximum permissible levels are between 5 mg / kg for desserts and 50 mg / kg for traditional and / or seasonal baked goods where cinnamon is indicated on the label . The maximum limits apply to coumarin as a flavoring substance in foods, but not when used as a fragrance , such as in perfumes or candles.

In the United States of America , the use of the tonka bean in food is prohibited by the Food and Drug Administration .

The tonka beans are used in the preparation of food and dishes in the manufacture of perfumes . The fragrant extract of the tonka bean is obtained by alcohol extraction from the dried beans. The scent of the tonka bean is said to have a hypnotic , erotic effect; it is often used in the manufacture of men's perfumes and the flavoring of tobacco . The beans can also be used as a smoking agent, they are freshly ground into powder and mixed with smoking in small amounts. When burned, the tonka beans give off a sweet, spicy scent (similar to almond and vanilla).

In the early 19th century, Alexander von Humboldt discovered that laundry in Venezuela smelled wonderful, because in Caracas the beans are placed between the laundry so that it has a pleasant scent.

In South America, she is said to have great magical and healing powers, as a protection amulet against diseases, in the wallet for prosperity and success, as well as to fulfill wishes.

Wood

The heavy ( bulk density 1100 kg / m 3 ) and very durable ironwood (Cumarú) is only available in small quantities and is mainly used for load-bearing structures in exterior construction as well as in gardening and landscaping. It is yellow-brown or red-brown and it is cheaper than teak , ipe , substitutes for Cumarú are Bongossi , Bangkirai , Okan (Denya) Cylicodiscus gabunensis , Mukulungú Autranella congolensis , Moabi Baillonella toxisperma . → DIN EN 13556

Thanks to the very good resistance to wood-discolouring and wood-destroying fungi and insects, the untreated wood can be used in exterior construction for a long time. As construction timber in exterior construction for mechanically and biologically highly stressed applications with moderate requirements for dimensional accuracy, e.g. B. sleepers, bridge and ship construction, locks, floating jetties, hydraulic engineering (fresh water only!), Container floors, decking; after careful sorting and drying, well suited for floors subject to heavy loads, e.g. B. in workshops of craft and industrial plants.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Dipteryx odorata in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), USDA , ARS , National Genetic Resources Program. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
  2. ^ Georg August Pritzel , Carl Jessen : The German folk names of plants. New contribution to the German linguistic treasure. Philipp Cohen, Hannover 1882, p. 136, ( online ).
  3. ↑ Leaflet Series Wood Types - Sheet 112 - Cumarú ( Memento of the original from November 17, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 2.33 MB), from sda22649b13e21108.jimcontent.com, accessed on November 16, 2016. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / sda22649b13e21108.jimcontent.com
  4. ^ Ingrid Roth: Stratification of a tropical forest as seen in dispersal types. W. Junk Publ., 1987, ISBN 978-94-010-8639-4 , p. 97.
  5. ↑ Data sheet at International Legume Database Information Service = ILDIS - LegumeWeb - World Database of Legumes , Version 10.38 from July 20, 2010.
  6. ^ Dipteryx odorata at Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, accessed June 21, 2013.
  7. ↑ Beguiling tonka beans rediscovered on delikatessenschweiz.ch , accessed on November 16, 2016.
  8. ^ Rudolf Hänsel, Otto Sticher: Phenolic compounds. In: Pharmacognosie - Phytopharmazie. Springer-Verlag, Berlin / Heidelberg 2007, ISBN 978-3-540-26508-5 , pp. 1141-1314.
  9. ↑ Regulation (EC) No. 1334/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of December 16, 2008 (Flavor Regulation ).
  10. ↑ 2006 CFR Title 21, Volume 3 . Retrieved July 6, 2009.
  11. ↑ Jennifer Peace Rhind: Fragrance and Wellbeing: Plant Aromatics and Their Influence on the Psyche. Singing Dragon, 2014, ISBN 978-1-84819-090-0 , p. 186.
  12. ^ Rudolf Schröder: Coffee, tea and cardamom: tropical luxury foods and spices. Ulmer, 1991, ISBN 978-3-8001-2143-4 , p. 221.