Its origins are thought to be from the East African savannah, where wild varieties are found, including in Sudan. Over thousands of years, this plant has spread to tropical Asia, then to the Caribbean and Latin America, including Indonesia. It is commonly used as a spice (a sour flavor enhancer) in cooking and herbal medicine.

A tropical, evergreen plant (does not experience leaf loss). It grows well up to an altitude of around 1,000–1,500 m above sea level, in sandy or clay soils, especially in areas with a long dry season.

• Taproot.

• The trunk grows up to 2 m in diameter, with a grayish-brown bark at the base, rough and fissured, with vertical grooves. The crown is dense and leafy, wide and rounded.

• The leaves are even-pinnately compound, 5-13 cm long, with even edges and are green. They fall before flowering.

• The flowers are yellowish, arranged in loose clusters and grow in the leaf axils or at the tips of branches.

• The fruit is a swollen, almost cylindrical pod with a hard, brownish exocarp and greenish-white flesh (young) and reddish-brown (old).

• The seeds are blackish-brown, shiny, and hard, and somewhat rectangular.

• Propagation is by seed and stem cuttings. Propagated plants are planted 8-10 m apart at the start of the rainy season.

Medicine for mouth ulcers, reduces inflammation and pain in the joints, medicine for coughs, fever, diarrhea, asthma, wounds and boils, increases appetite, smooths the skin.

Tanin, saponin, steroid, flavonoid, alkaloid, β-sitosterol, cycloartanol, limonene, malic acid, longifolene, crytopinone, tartaric acid.