page_title: Dipteryx odorata
section_title: Seeds
hierarchical_section_title: Dipteryx odorata / Seeds
caption_attribution_description: English: The smooth brown inside of the tonka bean
context_page_description: Dipteryx odorata is a species of flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae. The tree is native to Central America and northern South America and is semi-deciduous. Its seeds are known as tonka 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.
  The word "tonka" is taken from the Galibi tongue spoken by natives of French Guiana; 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.
context_section_description: The tonka seed contains coumarin, 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, however, and, 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.
caption: The smooth brown inside of the tonka bean
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