''Sapindus'' is a genus of about five to twelve species of

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

s and small trees in the lychee family,

Sapindaceae The Sapindaceae are a family of flowering plants in the order Sapindales known as the soapberry family. It contains 138 genera and 1858 accepted species. Examples include horse chestnut, maples, ackee and lychee. The Sapindaceae occur in tempera ...

, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the world. The genus includes both deciduous and evergreen species. Members of the genus are commonly known as soapberries or soapnuts because the fruit pulp is used to make soap. The generic name is derived from the Latin words ''sapo'', meaning "soap", and ''indicus'', meaning "of India". The

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

are alternate, long, pinnate (except in ''S. oahuensis'', which has simple leaves), with 14-30 leaflets, the terminal leaflet often absent. The flowers form in large

panicle A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...

s, each flower small, creamy white. The fruit is a small leathery-skinned

drupe In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is an indehiscent fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pit'', ''stone'', or '' pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed (''kernel'') ...

in diameter, yellow ripening blackish, containing one to three seeds.

Uses

Sapindus emarginatus in Hyderabad W IMG 4650

The drupes (soapnuts) contain

saponin Saponins (Latin "sapon", soap + "-in", one of), also selectively referred to as triterpene glycosides, are bitter-tasting usually toxic plant-derived organic chemicals that have a foamy quality when agitated in water. They are widely distributed ...

s, which have

surfactant Surfactants are chemical compounds that decrease the surface tension between two liquids, between a gas and a liquid, or interfacial tension between a liquid and a solid. Surfactants may act as detergents, wetting agents, emulsifiers, foaming ...

properties, having been used for washing by ancient Asian and American peoples. A number of other uses for ''Sapindus'' have also been reported such making arrows from the wood and decorative objects from the seeds.

Folk medicine

Leaf and fruit extracts of ''Sapindus'' have historically been used in

folk remedies Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before the ...

to treat various conditions.

Insecticide

''Sapindus'' species are used as food plants by the

larvae A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

of some

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...

(moths and butterflies) species including '' Endoclita malabaricus''. Kernel extracts of soapnut disrupt the activity of enzymes of larvae and pupae and inhibits the growth of the mosquito '' Aedes aegypti'', an important vector of viral diseases.

Dyeing agent

Soapnut is used as a dyeing agent for coloring the yarn of Tussar silk and cotton.

Species

Sapindus emarginatus in Hyderabad W2 IMG 4648

The number of species is disputed between different authors, particularly in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

where between one and three species are accepted. * '' Sapindus delavayi'' (China, India) * '' Sapindus detergens'' (

syn. The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. * In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnae ...

var. ''Soapnut, Ritha'') * '' Sapindus emarginatus'' Vahl (Southern Asia) * ''

Sapindus laurifolius ''Sapindus'' is a genus of about five to twelve species of shrubs and small trees in the lychee family, Sapindaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the world. The genus includes both deciduous and evergreen species. Membe ...

'' Vahl – Ritha (India) * ''

Sapindus marginatus ''Sapindus marginatus'', the Florida soapberry, is native to Georgia, Florida and South Carolina. It grows as a small to medium-sized small tree that usually grows to tall. It has pale gray or brown, ridged bark. The leaves are up to foot long ...

'' Willd. – Florida Soapberry ( Florida to South Carolina); included in ''S. saponaria'' by some authors. * ''

Sapindus mukorossi ''Sapindus mukorossi'', commonly known as Indian soapberry, washnut, or ritha, is a species of tree in the family Sapindaceae. It is a deciduous tree that grows in the lower foothills and midhills of the Himalayas at altitudes of up to . It is ...

Gaertn. Joseph Gaertner (12 March 1732 – 14 July 1791) was a German botanist, best known for his work on seeds, ''De Fructibus et Seminibus Plantarum'' (1788-1792). Biography He was born in Calw, and studied in Göttingen under Albrecht von Haller ...

– Indian Soapberry ( India east to the Himalayas) * ''

Sapindus oahuensis ''Sapindus oahuensis'' is a species of tree in the soapberry family, Sapindaceae. It is endemic to Hawaii, where it is limited to Kauai (Waimea Canyon) and Oahu (Waianae and Koolau Ranges). Its common names include Āulu,Little, E. L. and R. G. ...

'' Hillebr. ex

Radlk. Ludwig Adolph Timotheus Radlkofer (19 December 1829, in Munich – 16 February 1927, in Munich), was a Bavarian taxonomist and botanist. Radlkofer became a physician in 1854 and earned a PhD in botany at Jena the following year. He became an asso ...

– Lonomea (

Kauaʻi Kauai, () anglicized as Kauai ( ), is geologically the second-oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands (after Niʻihau). With an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), it is the fourth-largest of these islands and the List of islands of th ...

and

Oʻahu Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O’ ...

, Hawaii) * '' Sapindus rarak''

DC. Augustin Pyramus (or Pyrame) de Candolle (, , ; 4 February 17789 September 1841) was a Swiss botanist. René Louiche Desfontaines launched de Candolle's botanical career by recommending him at a herbarium. Within a couple of years de Candolle ...

( Southeast Asia) * '' Sapindus saponaria'' L. **S. s. var. ''drummondii'' (Hook. & Arn.) L.D.Benson – Western Soapberry (

southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, Ne ...

, Mexico) **''S. s.'' var. ''saponaria'' – Wingleaf Soapberry ( southeastern United States,

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

island of Hawaiʻi Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii ) is the largest island in the United States, located in the state of Hawaii. It is the southeasternmost of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of volcanic islands in the North Pacific Ocean. With an area of , it has 63% of th ...

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

and South America) * ''

Sapindus tomentosus ''Sapindus'' is a genus of about five to twelve species of shrubs and small trees in the lychee family, Sapindaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the world. The genus includes both deciduous and evergreen species. Membe ...

'' (China) * ''

Sapindus trifoliatus ''Sapindus trifoliatus'', the South India soapnut or three-leaf soapberry, is a species of flowering plant in the family Sapindaceae, native to Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, the Andaman Islands, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka, and introduced to eastern tr ...

'' L. – South India Soapnut or Three-leaf Soapberry (Southern India, Pakistan) * '' Sapindus vitiensis''

A.Gray Asa Gray (November 18, 1810 – January 30, 1888) is considered the most important American botanist of the 19th century. His '' Darwiniana'' was considered an important explanation of how religion and science were not necessarily mutually exc ...

( American Samoa, Samoa,

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

)

Formerly placed here

*''

Lepisanthes fruticosa ''Lepisanthes'' is a genus of 24 or 25 species of trees or shrubs native to tropical Africa, south and southeast Asia, Australia, and Madagascar. It includes species formerly classified in the genera ''Aphania'', ''Erioglossum'', and ''Otophor ...

'' (Roxb.) Leenh. (as ''S. fruticosus'' Roxb.) *''

Lepisanthes senegalensis ''Lepisanthes senegalensis'' is a tree widespread through tropical Africa and tropical Asia to New Guinea and northern Australia. Ecology Wet valleys. Guangxi, Southern Yunnan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Indochinese peninsula, Indonesia, Malaysi ...

'' (Juss. ex Poir.) Leenh. (as ''S. senegalensis'' Juss. ex Poir.) *'' Lepisanthes tetraphylla'' (Vahl) Radlk. (as ''S. tetraphylla'' Vahl) *'' Talisia cerasina'' (Benth.) Radlk. (as ''S. cerasinus'' Benth.) *'' Talisia esculenta'' (A.St.-Hil.) Radlk. (as ''S. esculenta'' A.St.-Hil.)

References

External links

Flora of India: ''Sapindus''

Flora of Pakistan: ''Sapindus''

Flora of China: ''Sapindus'' species list
{{Taxonbar, from=Q321451 Sapindaceae genera Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus