Wild tamarind
| Wild tamarind | ||||||||||||
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Branch with pinnate leaves and legumes |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Lysiloma latisiliquum | ||||||||||||
| ( L. ) Benth. |
The wild tamarind ( Lysiloma latisiliquum ) is a species of the genus Lysiloma within the legume family (Fabaceae). The natural range is in the Caribbean and Florida. The name "wild tamarind" is z. T. also used for other types of the mimosa family.
Description and ecology
Appearance, bark, wood and leaf
The wild tamarind grows as a medium-sized to large tree with stature heights of usually 12, rarely up to 15 meters with trunk diameters of 0.6 to 0.9 meters. The trunks often grow somewhat in a zigzag. The widely arching, overlapping branches form a broad, flat treetop . In open locations, short, upright to slightly sloping trunks and spread, umbrella-like tree tops are formed. With age, the treetop becomes more and more open. In the case of dense stands , the trunk is longer, the branches only begin at greater trunk heights and the tree crown then becomes conical.
The bark on the branches is initially light reddish-brown, but becomes a little lighter over the years. In young trees, the bark is smooth, light gray with a pink tint. The thin to medium-thick bark later turns dark brown. On older trees, the bark flakes off in large, plate-shaped pieces. Although the wild tamarind grows relatively quickly, it forms a hard wood and can withstand strong winds. You can see growth rings in the wood, but they don't seem to be annual rings .
In the northern range, Lysiloma latisiliquum is deciduous, semi- evergreen towards the south, and the southernmost occurrences are evergreen . Most of the time, the leaves fall before the new shoots in late spring, but sometimes it overlaps a little. The alternate arranged on the branches 10 to 18 centimeters long and 10 to 13 centimeters wide leaves are divided into petiole and leaf blade. The double-paired pinnate leaf blade rarely has two, usually three to five pairs of opposite first-order pinnate. The first order leaflets each have 10 to 20 opposite leaflets . The sitting, simple leaflets are oval to oblong with a length of about 1.25 centimeters and a width of about 0.5 centimeters with a blunt upper end and a smooth edge. The upper side of the leaf is dark green, the lower side lighter. There are relatively large, egg-shaped stipules .
Inflorescence and flower
The flowering time in Florida is in spring and summer. In the leaf axils of young branches stand individually or in groups on about four centimeters long inflorescence shafts with a diameter of about 1.5 centimeters, spherical, head-shaped inflorescences . In the spherical inflorescence, many flowers stand over a bract .
The hermaphrodite, white to creamy white flowers are radial symmetry and five-fold with a double flower envelope . The five sepals are briefly fused bell-shaped. The five petals are briefly fused bell-shaped. The corolla towers over the calyx. The main visual organs of the flowers are the 15 to 20 white stamens , the stamens of which have grown together to form a stamen tube. The stamens are eight to ten times as long as the corolla. Each flower contains only one upper carpel . The faintly scented flowers are visited by bees , but no details are known about pollination .
Fruit and seeds
The legume is relatively long and flat with a length of 13 to 20 centimeters and a width of 2.5 to 3 centimeters; It twists a bit during its development. The legume, which is green at the beginning, turns dark brown later and is lightly mottled with falling tissue as it ripens. The legumes remain on the tree over the winter and usually only open during the next flowering period. The legumes contain five to ten seeds. Only some of the seeds ripen because the beetle Merobruchus lysilomae eats the seeds and leaves small exit holes in the legumes. The seeds are dark brown. In contrast to the Indian tamarind ( Tamarindus indica ), the fruits of the wild tamarind are not edible for humans.
Chromosome number
The number of chromosomes is 2n = 26.
Occurrence
Lysiloma latisiliquum occurs in the southernmost part of Florida , on the Yucatán Peninsula , in Belize and Guatemala and on the Caribbean islands of Cuba , Hispaniola , Puerto Rico , Turks and Caicos Islands and the Bahamas .
The natural stands of Lysiloma latisiliquum thrive in shallow, neutral to slightly alkaline soils that are formed over limestone .
Lysiloma latisiliquum thrives in dry, evergreen laurel forests, scrub and pine woodlands, as well as on anthropogenically disturbed areas. It is a fast growing pioneer plant . The seedlings develop in open, sunny locations. They quickly develop into shade trees under which other species can settle. Unlike other hardwood species, they do not survive forest fires .
Synonyms
Synonyms for Lysiloma latisiliquum (L.) Benth. are: Acacia bahamensis (Benth.) Griseb. , Acacia latisiliqua (L.) Willd. , Leucaena latisiliqua (L.) Gillis , Lysiloma bahamense Benth. , Mimosa latisiliqua L.
use
The wood of the wild tamarind is heavy, hard and with a fine texture. The heartwood is deep dark brown, while the sapwood is almost white. The wood is occasionally used for ship and boat building. Smaller pieces of the heartwood are also made into hair ornaments (isb. Skin sticks).
swell
- Stephen H. Brown Lysiloma latisiliquum from the Lee County Extension of the University of Florida - full text PDF.
- Datasheet at the Bahamas National Trust's Leon Levy Native Plant Preserve.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f Klaus Ulrich Leistikow: The Woodbook: The Complete Plates . TASCHEN Verlag, Cologne 2013, ISBN 978-3-8365-3603-5 , pp. 352 .
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Stephen H. Brown Lysiloma latisiliquum des Lee County Extension from the University of Florida - full text PDF.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m data sheet at the Leon Levy Native Plant Preserve of the Bahamas National Trust.
- ↑ Lysiloma latisiliquum at Tropicos.org. In: IPCN Chromosome Reports . Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis
