''Dipteryx odorata'' (commonly known as "cumaru", "kumaru", or "Brazilian teak") is a species of
flowering tree
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
in the
pea
The pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the flowering plant species ''Pisum sativum''. Each pod contains several peas, which can be green or yellow. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and d ...
family,
. The tree is native to Central America and northern
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...
and is
semi-deciduous
Semi-deciduous or semi-evergreen is a botanical term which refers to plants that lose their foliage for a very short period, when old leaves fall off and new foliage growth is starting. This phenomenon occurs in tropical and sub-tropical woody spe ...
. Its
seed
A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...
s are known as tonka beans (sometimes tonkin beans or tonquin beans). They are black and wrinkled and have a smooth, brown interior. They have a strong fragrance similar to
sweet woodruff due to their high content of
coumarin
Coumarin () or 2''H''-chromen-2-one is an aromatic organic chemical compound with formula . Its molecule can be described as a benzene molecule with two adjacent hydrogen atoms replaced by a lactone-like chain , forming a second six-membered h ...
.
The word ''tonka'' is taken from the
Galibi
The Kalina, also known as the Caribs or mainland Caribs and by several other names, are an indigenous people native to the northern coastal areas of South America. Today, the Kalina live largely in villages on the rivers and coasts of Venezuela, ...
(Carib) tongue spoken by natives of
French Guiana
French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic coast of South America in the Guianas. ...
; it also appears in Tupi, another language of the same region, as the name of the tree. The old genus name, ''Coumarouna'', was formed from another Tupi name for tree, ''kumarú''.
Many anticoagulant prescription drugs, such as
warfarin
Warfarin, sold under the brand name Coumadin among others, is a medication that is used as an anticoagulant (blood thinner). It is commonly used to prevent blood clots such as deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, and to prevent st ...
, are based on
4-hydroxycoumarin
4-Hydroxycoumarin is a coumarin derivative with a hydroxy group at the 4-position.
Occurrence
4-Hydroxycoumarin is an important fungal metabolite from the precursor coumarin, and its production leads to further fermentative production of the na ...
, a chemical derivative of coumarin initially isolated from this bean. Coumarin, however, does not have anticoagulant properties.
Biology of the tree
The tree grows up to , with a trunk of up to in diameter.
The tree bark is smooth and gray, whereas the wood is red.
The tree has alternate pinnate leaves with three to six leaflets, leathery, glossy and dark green, and pink flowers. Each developed fruit contains one seed. ''D. odorata'' is pollinated by insects. The worst pests are the
bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most ...
s because they eat the pulpy flesh of the fruit. A few known fungi may cause problems: ''Anthostomella abdita, Diatrype ruficarnis, Macrophoma calvuligera'' and ''Myiocopron cubense.''
Radio-carbon dating
Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon.
The method was dev ...
of ''D. odorata'' stumps left by a large logging operation near
Manaus by Niro Higuchi, Jeffrey Chambers, and Joshua Schimel, showed that it was one of around 100 species which definitely live to over 1,000 years (specifically an age of 1400 years being claimed for this and the unrelated ''Cariniana macrantha''). Until their research, it had been assumed unlikely that any Amazonian tree could live to old age due to the conditions of the rain forest.
Seeds
The tonka seed contains
coumarin
Coumarin () or 2''H''-chromen-2-one is an aromatic organic chemical compound with formula . Its molecule can be described as a benzene molecule with two adjacent hydrogen atoms replaced by a lactone-like chain , forming a second six-membered h ...
, a chemical isolate from this plant, which also gave the name to it. The seeds normally contain about 1 to 3% of coumarin, but rarely it can achieve 10%.
Coumarin is responsible for the seed's pleasant odor and is used in the perfume industry. Coumarin is bitter to the taste. In large infused doses, it may cause hemorrhages, liver damage, or paralysis of the heart.
It is therefore controlled as a
food additive by many governments. Like a number of other plants, the tonka bean plant probably produces coumarin as a defense chemical.
Uses
Tonka beans have been used as a source of natural coumarin, and, after its synthesis in the 1940s, artificial coumarin became one of the first artificial flavoring agents as a
vanilla
Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the Mexican species, flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia'').
Pollination is required to make the p ...
substitute.
The FDA has considered foods containing tonka beans adulterated
since 1954
because coumarin has shown toxicity in extremely high concentrations. Despite the ban on its use in foods, the product has been frequently imported into the United States by gastronomic enthusiasts.
There have been calls for removing the restrictions on the use of tonka beans in food in the US similar to the successful deregulations of
mangosteen
Mangosteen (''Garcinia mangostana''), also known as the purple mangosteen, is a tropical evergreen tree with edible fruit native to tropical lands surrounding the Indian Ocean. Its origin is uncertain due to widespread prehistoric cultivation. ...
s and
absinthe in the early 21st century;
the regulations are criticized as unreasonable due to the unlikelihood of consuming enough coumarin to cause ill effects and due to the presence of coumarin in unregulated foods.
Coumarin is also present in
lavender
''Lavandula'' (common name lavender) is a genus of 47 known species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is native to the Old World and is found in Cape Verde and the Canary Islands, and from Europe across to northern and easte ...
,
licorice
Liquorice (British English) or licorice (American English) ( ; also ) is the common name of ''Glycyrrhiza glabra'', a flowering plant of the bean family Fabaceae, from the root of which a sweet, aromatic flavouring can be extracted.
The liq ...
,
strawberries and
cherries.
In France, tonka beans are used in cuisine (particularly, in desserts and stews)
and in perfumes. The flavor has been described as a complex mix of vanilla, almond, clove, cinnamon, and amaretto.
Yves Rocher
Yves Rocher (7 April 1930 – 26 December 2009) was a French businessman and founder of the cosmetics company that bears his name. He was a pioneer of the modern use of natural ingredients in cosmetics..
Early life
Yves Rocher was born in the ...
uses them in their men's perfume Hoggar, for example.
Many anticoagulant prescription drugs, such as
warfarin
Warfarin, sold under the brand name Coumadin among others, is a medication that is used as an anticoagulant (blood thinner). It is commonly used to prevent blood clots such as deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, and to prevent st ...
, are based on
4-hydroxycoumarin
4-Hydroxycoumarin is a coumarin derivative with a hydroxy group at the 4-position.
Occurrence
4-Hydroxycoumarin is an important fungal metabolite from the precursor coumarin, and its production leads to further fermentative production of the na ...
, a chemical derivative of coumarin initially isolated from this bean. Coumarin, however, does not have anticoagulant properties.
The beans were formerly also spelled "tonquin" and "tonkin", although it has no connection with
Tonkin
Tonkin, also spelled ''Tongkin'', ''Tonquin'' or ''Tongking'', is an exonym referring to the northern region of Vietnam. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this term referred to the domain '' Đàng Ngoài'' under Trịnh lords' control, includ ...
, now part of
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
. Tonquin is still used today to flavor some pipe tobaccos, such as
Samuel Gawith "1792 Flake." Cumaru, also known as Brazilian teak, is an increasingly popular hardwood used for flooring in the United States. It has a very appealing natural color variation and is considered quite durable as it has a 3540 rating on the
Janka hardness scale. Cumaru decking has a Class A
fire-resistance rating
A fire-resistance rating typically means the duration for which a passive fire protection system can withstand a standard fire resistance test. This can be quantified simply as a measure of time, or it may entail other criteria, involving eviden ...
, because it has a
flame spread
A flame (from Latin '' flamma'') is the visible, gaseous part of a fire. It is caused by a highly exothermic chemical reaction taking place in a thin zone. When flames are hot enough to have ionized gaseous components of sufficient density they ...
Index of 20.
Cultivation
Today, the main producers of tonka beans are Venezuela and Nigeria. The cumaru tree is a light-demanding
calcifuge
A calcifuge is a plant that does not tolerate alkaline (basic) soil. The word is derived from the Latin 'to flee from chalk'. These plants are also described as ericaceous, as the prototypical calcifuge is the genus '' Erica'' (heaths). It is not ...
tree which grows on poor, well-drained soils. The best growth is reached on fertile soils rich in
humus. In the native region there is a mean annual temperature of 25 °C and about rainfall per year, with a dry season from June to November.
In general, it has a very low plant density, but depending on the agricultural use, the density and the age of the trees diversify. In seed production systems, the plant density is higher and the trees are older than in timber production systems.
The tree flowers from March to May, and the fruits ripen from June to July.
So, the fresh fruits are picked up in June and July, and fallen pods are harvested from January to March
or sometimes earlier.
The hard outer shell is removed and the beans are spread out for 2–3 days to dry, after which they can be sold.
The major producer is Venezuela, followed by Brazil and Colombia. The most important importing country is the US, where it is used especially in the tobacco industry.
Social aspects
This species is well known locally and generates an important income for rural families, particularly as a buffer in times of hardship.
It is used for timber and nontimber products, so it is crucial that the use of this resource occurs in a sustainable way. The yield of beans per tree is about 1.0–3.5 kg per year, but cumaru trees produce a large volume of seeds every four years.
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
*
Spice Pages: Tonka Beans
{{Taxonbar, from=Q901484
odorata
Plants described in 1802
Spices
Trees of Guyana
Trees of Brazil
Trees of Peru
Trees of Bolivia
Trees of Suriname
Trees of Venezuela