Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Tonqua Bean

TONQUA BEAN.⁠The Tonqua, Tonka, or Tonquin bean, also called the coumara nut, is the seed of Dipterix odorata, a Leguminous tree growing to a height of 80 feet, native of tropical South America. The drupe-like pod contains a single seed possessed of a fine sweet "new-mown hay" odour, due to the presence of a crystallizable principle called coumarin, to which also the dried stalks of Melilotus officinalis and the vernal grass Anthoxanthum odoratum owe their odour. Tonqua beans are used princi pally for scenting snuff and as an ingredient in perfume sachets and in perfumers " bouquets."