Table 2.

Uses of Tamarindus indica, parts used and mode of use

Uses	Part used	Mode of preparation and use
Food	Fruit	Mature ripe fruit of the sweet variety eaten as a snack. Immature green pods are eaten fresh or boiled with porridge to give it a sour taste. Pulp of mature ripe fruit added during preparation of porridge and millet bread to give it a sharp taste. Pulp concentrate is boiled to make a thick paste eaten as sauce especially during drought. Tender leaves cooked and eaten as a vegetable.
Beverage	Fruit	Husks are removed from mature ripe fruit which is then soaked in cold water. Seeds and fibres are then separated from the pulp to make a concentrate which is diluted to make a cold beverage popular with all ages. Sugar or honey may be added to enhance taste.
Spice/seasoning	Fruit	Pulp of ripe fruit boiled with dried potato chips ‘amukeke’(At.) adds flavor and preserves consistency. Pulp concentrate added to sauces such as meat to enhance taste.
Preservative	Fruit	Pulp added during preparation of millet bread preserves it for several weeks. Pulp added to sauces such as meat keeps it fresh for a longer period.
Income	Tree	Entire tree sold especially to limestone kiln operators to earn income.
	Fruit	Fruit sold to earn income.
Fuel	Trunk	Trunk and large branches used to make charcoal. Makes excellent fuelwood for firing bricks and limestone kilns.
	Branches	Small branches lopped off during pruning or complete harvest are used for firewood.
mulch	Leaves	Leaves spread in gardens as mulch
construction	Branches	Straight portions are used in house construction
Tools and utensils	Trunk and branches	Small stems and branches are used to make clubs and tool handles for hoes, axes and pangas Trunk is chiseled to make utensils such as mortars, pestles
Aesthetic and recreation	Seeds	Seeds are used as counters in traditional board games such as ‘omweso’ (lus)
	Tree	Trees add beauty to homes and provide shade in homesteads and other compounds thus improving the ambience
Socio-cultural	Tree	Due to the cool shade and lack of parasites, large tamarind trees are favourite venues for village meetings, markets and places of worship. Large tamarind trees are used as polling stations during elections. Due to their longevity, tamarind trees serve as key landmarks and are often used as reference points and boundary markers during land demarcation between neighbours.
Education	Seeds	Seeds are used as learning aids during arithmetic lessons for beginners
Personal hygiene	branches	Ends of small branches are cut and the ends chewed to make durable toothbrushes
Ethnoveterinary uses	Leaves	Freshly picked mature leaves are crushed in water and decoction used to treat livestock diseases such as ‘kawali’(dhop.)
Ethnomedicine for humans	Leaves	Freshly picked mature leaves crushed in water then filtrate mixed in porridge to treat ‘kawali’(dhop.) (smallpox) Leaves crushed in water and drunk to treat abdominal upsets. Decoction of stem bark used to treat abdominal upsets in humans.
	Fruit	Pulp diluted to make a cold beverage given especially to those undergoing stress such as pregnant women, convalescents and those returning from war. Fruit pulp concentrate used to treat constipation
Shade	Tree	Provides shade for livestock, in homesteads, on compounds and for travellers along roads
Windbreak	Tree	Windbreak for houses and crops
Support	Tree	Trees used to support climbing plants including passion fruit, yams and oyster nuts locally known kulekula[lus] or Onjwege [dhop.] Straight portions of branches used to support banana stems
Feed	Leaves	Fresh leaves are fed to domestic animals such as goats.

dialects: at = ateso, dhop = dhopadhola, lus = lusoga, lug = luganda