Sapindus saponaria L.

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Photo: Mark Hyde
Prince Edward School, Harare

Photo: Mark Hyde
Borrowdale Road, adjacent to National Botanic Garden

Synonyms:
Common names:	Western soapberry (English) Wingleaved soapberry (English)
Description:	Small to medium-sized deciduous tree. Leaves alternate, pinnate, 20-38 cm long with rhachis winged; leaflets 6-20, lanceolate, thick and leathery leaflets, 5-13 cm long; margins entire. Inflorescences in dense terminal branched heads, 15-20 cm long. Flowers numerous, small, white. Fruit in large pyramidal clusters, 3-3.6 cm wide, golden yellow when ripe.
Notes:
Derivation of specific name:	saponaria: soapy, referring to the fruit. These contain a large amount of saponin, which, mashed with water produces a soapy lather formerly used for laundering clothes.
Flowering time:
Worldwide distribution:	Native from Mexico to Argentina; introduced and naturalized in Tropical Africa and part of Southeast Asia.
Growth form(s):	Tree.
Insects associated with this species:
Spot characters:	Display spot characters for this species
Literature:

Flora of Burundi: Sapindus saponaria
Flora of Zimbabwe: Sapindus saponaria

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Sapindus saponaria
African Plant Database: Sapindus saponaria
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Sapindus saponaria
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Sapindus saponaria
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Sapindus saponaria
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Sapindus saponaria
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Sapindus saponaria
JSTOR Plant Science: Sapindus saponaria
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Sapindus saponaria
Plants of the World Online: Sapindus saponaria
Tropicos: Sapindus saponaria
Wikipedia: Sapindus saponaria