Sapindus laurifolius 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 p.p., non L. 1753.
  • Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Unresolved name
  • Common name : Soapnut Tree
  • Vernacular name :
    • Aristhaka (Sanskrit)
    • Reeta, Reetae (Hindi)
    • Naruvolu, Antuvaladakai (Kannada)
    • Manippungu, Puchikottai (Tamil)
  • Habit : Tree
  • Habitat : Tropical evergreen forests, open forests
  • Comments / notes : Grows at low elevations. Fruit is used as a substitute for soap
  • Key identification features : A moderate-sized tree. Leaves are densely arranged with lanceolate leaflets having pointed tip and glabrous surface. Leaf margins are pale white. Flowers are in clusters arranged in bunches at the end of branches. Petals 5 and pale white. Fruits are green-coloured, 2-3 spherical-lobed, joined together and covered with soft hairs. Seeds are black.
  • Flower, Fruit : October-March
  • Collection Nos : CJS 10634, CJS 11366, KFP 11031
  • Distribution :
    • Karnataka : Bengaluru district, Chikkamagaluru district, Davanagare district, Hassan district, Kolar district, Mysuru district, Shivamogga district, Udupi district
    • Maharashtra : All districts of Maharashtra
    • Tamil Nadu : Coimbatore district, Kanyakumari district, Madurai district, The Nilgiri district, Tiruchirapalli district, Tirunelveli district
  • Native : South India
  • Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
  • Literature :
    • Saldanha & Nicolson, 1976 - Flora of Hassan district, Karnataka
    • Saldanha, C. J. 1996. Flora of Karnataka vol. 2
    • Balakrishna Gowda & A.N. Sringesh 2004 – Sringeri (checklist unpublished)
    • Ramaswamy & Razi, 1973 - Flora of Bangalore district, Karnataka state
    • Seetharam et al., 2000 - Gulbarga
    • Keshava Murthy & Yoganarasimhan, 1990 - Flora of Coorg district, Karnataka state
    • Gopalakrishna Bhat, 2003 - Udupi
    • Manjunath et al., 2003 - Davanagere
    • Henry, Kumari & Chithra (1983). Flora of Tamil Nadu, India vol. 1.
  • Read more :
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2024). India Flora Online. http://indiafloraonline-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Sapindus laurifolius. Downloaded on 1 June 2024.

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