Sapindus

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Sapindus is a genus of about five to twelve species of shrubs and small trees in the Sapindaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions in both the Old World and the New World. The genus includes both deciduous and evergreen species. Common names include soapberry and soapnut, both names referring to the use of the crushed seeds to make soap.

The leaves are alternate, 15-40 cm long, pinnate, with 14-30 leaflets, the terminal leaflet often absent. The flowers form in large panicles, each flower small, creamy white. The fruit, called a soap nut, is a small leathery-skinned drupe 1-2 cm diameter, yellow ripening blackish, containing one to three seeds.

Soap nuts contain saponin, a natural detergent which can be used to clean clothes. Saponin is toxic if eaten, and can cause a severe skin rash (urticaria) in some people.

Soap nuts have become popular as an alternative to laundry detergent among those who are trying to live in an environmentally friendly style. A few nuts can be placed in a cotton drawstring bag in with a washload and reused several times until the nuts turn black.

Sapindus species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Endoclita malabaricus.

Species

The number of species is disputed between different authors, particularly in North America where between one and three species are accepted.

Sapindus delavayi. China.
Sapindus drummondii (syn. S. saponaria var. drummondii) Western Soapberry. Southern United States, Mexico.
Sapindus emarginatus. Southern Asia.
Sapindus marginatus Florida Soapberry. Florida to South Carolina; included in S. saponaria by some authors.
Sapindus mukorossi Chinese Soapberry. Southern China west to the Himalaya.
Sapindus oahuensis Hawaii Soapberry or Lonomea. Hawaii (endemic).
Sapindus rarak. Southeast Asia.
Sapindus saponaria Wingleaf Soapberry. Florida Keys, Caribbean, Central America.
Sapindus tomentosus. China.
Sapindus trifoliatus South India Soapnut or Three-leaf Soapberry. Southern India, Pakistan.

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