The Collaborative International Dictionary
Dipteryx \Dipteryx\ n. a genus of tropical American trees which produce a black seed called the tonka bean.
Syn: Coumarouna, genus Coumarouna, genus Dipteryx.
Wiktionary
alt. The black wrinkled seed of (taxlink Dipteryx odorata species noshow=1), a neotropical legume tree, used as a perfume and vanilla substitute due to its high coumarin content. n. The black wrinkled seed of (taxlink Dipteryx odorata species noshow=1), a neotropical legume tree, used as a perfume and vanilla substitute due to its high coumarin content.
WordNet
n. fragrant black nutlike seeds of the tonka bean tree; used in perfumes and medicines and as a substitute for vanilla [syn: coumara nut]
tall tropical South American tree having pulpy egg-shaped pods of fragrant black almond-shaped seeds used for flavoring [syn: tonka bean tree, Coumarouna odorata, Dipteryx odorata]
Usage examples of "tonka bean".
Cocoa trees grew in the shade of the immortelles, coffee in the shade of the cocoa, and the hills were covered with tonka bean.
All species of Melilot, when in flower, have a peculiar sweet odour, which by drying be comes stronger and more agreeable, somewhat like that of the Tonka bean, this similarity being accounted for by the fact that they both contain the same chemical principle, Coumarin, which is also present in new-mown hay and woodruff, which have the identical fragrance.