Tamarindus indica Linn

In winter and spring, the sky is high and the clouds are light, and the wind is crisp. When you walk into the Dai village in Xishuangbanna, it is easy to see a kind of fruit tree that local people especially like-Suanjiao. It has a tall tree, a rough trunk, sparse branches and leaves, and a string of brown hooked pods hanging from the branches.

Suanjiao, also known as Suanjiao, Tamarind, Luohuangzi, Suanjiao (Hainan) and Muhan (Dai language), is a tropical and subtropical evergreen tree of Sumaceae, which only contains Suanjiao 1 species and has two types: sweet type and acid type. Suanjiao likes hot climate, with an average annual temperature of 18? C—24? C, areas with annual rainfall of 500-1200mm can grow normally.

Suanzao originated in tropical Africa, and was introduced to India for breeding and planting by Sudan, so that people mistakenly thought Suanzao was a native plant in India. Later, the sour horn spread from southern Asia to Persia, Arab countries and Europe. The sour horn was once popular in ancient Egypt and Greece in the 4th century BC. Among all tropical fruit trees in the world, Suanjiao is the most widely distributed, and it is distributed in all continents except Antarctica.

Asia is the main producing area of sour horn in the world. It is cultivated in India, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asian countries, and mainly grows on dry slopes with good heat conditions, less rainfall and an altitude of less than 1500 meters. Among them, there are orchards in India, the Philippines and Thailand, and the output is very considerable. Only India has an annual output of 275,000 tons of pods. The Philippines exports 80,000 US dollars worth of sour horns every year, and Thailand's famous sweet and sour horns are also exported in large quantities every year to earn foreign exchange.

In America, Suanzao is mainly distributed in many Latin American countries and the dry and hot areas of the United States, and the cultivated area of Mexico is the largest in this continent, reaching 4443 hectares. The United States is mainly distributed in Hawaii, the southern section of the western Pacific coast, the Gulf Coast and Florida, with the famous Mynell sweet and sour corner. In Guatemala, it is concentrated in the dry-hot valley of Motagua, and there are also large areas of wild acacia trees growing here.

In Africa, tamarind is mainly distributed in low-altitude barren slopes and deserts in Egypt, Ethiopia, South Africa, Lesotho, Kenya, Nigeria, Cameroon, Sudan and other countries. South Africa and Ethiopia are relatively large.

In Europe, tamarind is mainly distributed in coastal slopes and barren hills below 1000 meters above sea level in Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Greece and other countries. Some families also like to plant sour horns to beautify the courtyard.

In Oceania, tamarind is mainly distributed in Australia, Fiji and other countries.

In China, Suanjiao is mainly distributed in the south of Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Sichuan, Yunnan and other provinces, Hainan and Taiwan Province. The altitude does not exceed 1400 meters, such as dry slope wasteland, dry-hot valleys, courtyards and coastal areas. Most of them are in wild and semi-wild state, and the area is estimated to be less than 830 hectares. For a long time, the protection and development of fruit trees in Suanjiao have been neglected because of the large gap between the comparative interests of economic crops such as longan, litchi, mango, pineapple, coffee, rubber and coconut and Suanjiao. Especially under the influence of the ultra-left thought in the past, a large number of old tamarind trees were cut down and the resources were seriously destroyed. Suanjiao is mainly distributed in Jinsha River, Nujiang River, Yuanjiang dry-hot valley and Xishuangbanna in Yunnan, where the heat is 50-1350 meters above sea level, and naturally grows into two types: Banna sweet type and ordinary acid type. Among them, the dry-hot valley of Jinsha River in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces is the main producing area of tamarind in China, with an annual output of tamarind 100 tons, which is superior to other areas in the province in yield, quality and flavor. In the mid-1970s, Suanjiao once attracted the attention and inquiries of foreign merchants at the Guangzhou Fair, but unfortunately, it was not able to open up exports in time due to conditions at that time. In recent years, with the development of economy and people's further understanding and development of Suanjiao, Suanjiao has emerged in the domestic and foreign markets and shined brilliantly.

For human beings, tamarind is almost a treasure and has a wide range of uses. Acacia angustifolia grows slowly, and its life span is as long as 200 years, of which the economic life span is about 100 years. Its beautiful tree shape and evergreen branches and leaves are an ideal ornamental tree in the courtyard. If the young trees are applied with gardening bonsai technology, it can be regarded as a good bonsai making material. It has a large amount of flowers and a long flowering period, and it blooms continuously from April to August. It can be described as an excellent nectar source plant. Its nectar is slightly sour and tastes excellent. At the same time, the flowers can be used to make western salads.

Suanzao pulp is rich in sugar, acetic acid, tartaric acid, formic acid, citric acid and other ingredients, which are mainly used as condiments, drinks, jams and so on in the food field, and the products are deeply loved by consumers. In Latin American and African markets, sour pepper seasoning is common, while in tropical and subtropical countries and regions, sour pepper beverage and sour pepper mixed beverage are very popular, so that the Coca-Cola Company of the United States has also begun to study sour pepper. At present, ADE soft drinks from Central America, India, South America, papaya, guava, banana, Thai whiskey, China Kunming Suanjiao juice and fruit juice are sold in the international market. Every hot summer, local residents in Xishuangbanna like to choose mature sour horn, add brown sugar to boil water and make it into a cool drink to drink, which is sweet and sour, dispel summer heat and relieve fever, or put sour horn juice in leisure food rice jelly, dried rice and rice noodles as seasoning, which is sour and spicy to stimulate appetite.

At the same time, tamarind pulp is rich in calcium, phosphorus, iron and other elements, among which the calcium content ranks first among all fruits. Therefore, Suanjiao is also widely used in medicine. As usual, eating Suanzao can cure diarrhea, flatulence, leprosy, paralysis and paralysis, prevent scurvy and excessive bile, kill human parasites and slow down alcohol and Datura stramonium poisoning. Directly containing sour horn in the mouth can promote the production of body fluid to relieve summer heat, clear away heat and toxic materials, eliminate sore throat, help digestion, clean teeth and strengthen teeth. If mixed with salt, it can be used as a liniment for rheumatism. In view of the medical use of Suanzao, Britain, the United States and some large pharmaceutical firms have included it in the Pharmacopoeia, and imported Suanzao in large quantities to India, Egypt, Greater Antilles, Mexico, Thailand, Lesser Antilles and other countries and regions. The United States alone imports 90 tons of Suanzao every year for the pharmaceutical industry.

Acacia angustifolia leaves are good feed for cattle and sheep, and some countries also pick leaves to develop sericulture, or for people to eat with meals. The shoots are also excellent hosts for lac insects, which can be stocked. Bark contains 7% tannin, which is often used for tanning and dyeing or making ink after burning. The sapwood of tamarind is yellow-white, the heartwood is dark purple with brown, the structure is dense, hard and heavy, insect-proof, durable and tough. It is a good material for high-quality furniture, buildings, gun butts, axles, boathouses, steamers, etc. In the market, merchants call it the precious "Madeira Mahogany". The seeds contain 63% starch, and Thai people bake them and grind them into powder to make coffee drinks. In industry, it can be used for fiber sizing, color printing, paper polishing, plastic processing and tile and wood bonding, and the tamarind seed powder can replace corn starch, which can save 30% of the cost. Now, Japan, the United States, Canada and Britain import a large number of industrial tamarind seed powder every year. In addition, the seed kernel of Suanzao also contains succinic acid, which is refined into excellent edible oil and can be used for glazing and polishing in industry. 1942 Indian scientists found that the seed kernel of tamarind contains pectin as high as 46%-48%, which makes the by-products of tamarind kernel be further developed and utilized.

If it is really an ice horn, it may be made of ice.