Herbarium JCB

Sapindus emarginatus Vahl

Family : SAPINDACEAE
(Soapberry Family)
Family (Hindi name) : REETHA FAMILY (रीठा फैमिली)
Family (as per The APG System III) : SAPINDACEAE
Synonym(s) : Sapindus trifoliata sensu Hiern in FBI 1875, non L. 1753.
Species Name (as per The Plant List) : Sapindus emarginatus Vahl
Common name : Soapnut Tree
Vernacular name : Ritha, Reetha (Hindi); Kunkudu (Telugu); Rentha, Maktamanji (Oria); Ritha (Marathi); Poovankottai, Puchaa, Pounanga (Tamil); Chuvappukamaram, Pachakotta, Pasakottamaram, Soppinkaimaram, Soapumka, Uravanchi, Urungi (Malayalam)
Habit : Tree
Habitat : Dry deciduous forests and margins of grasslands
Comments / notes : Occasional in dry evergreen to semi-evergreen patches on hills up to 1000m
Key identification features : Fruit sparsely hairy, of 3 drupelets connate up to half their length
Flower, Fruit : February-December
Distribution :
- Andhra Pradesh : Guntur district, Kurnool district, Prakasam district, Anantapur district, Kadapa district, West Godavari district, Srikakulam district
- Kerala : Malappuram district, Palakkad district, Idukki district
- Maharashtra : All districts of Maharashtra
- Tamil Nadu : All districts of Tamil Nadu
World Distribution : India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Pakistan
Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
Literature : J.L.Ellis, 1990- Flora of Nallamalais Vol. 1; H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1994- Flora of Orissa Vol. 1; R. S. Rao et al., 1986 - Flora of West Godavari District; R. S. Rao and S. H. Sreeramulu, 1986 - Flora of Srikakulam District; N.P.Singh, 1988. Flora of Eastern Karnataka; Matthew, K.M., Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (1). Diocesan Press, Madras. 1983; Sasidharan, N. 2011. Flowering plants of Kerala. DVD, V 2, KFRI; Henry, Kumari & Chithra (1983). Flora of Tamil Nadu, India vol. 1.
Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Raja K Swamy, Deepak Kumar, Arun Singh R. and K. Gopalakrishna Bhat (2019). Flora of Peninsular India. http://peninsula.ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Sapindus emarginatus. Downloaded on 3 April 2025.