Sapindus trifoliatus L.

 
  • Family : SAPINDACEAE
    (Soapberry Family)
  • Family (Hindi name) : REETHA FAMILY (रीठा फैमिली)
  • Family (as per The APG System III) : Sapindaceae
  • Synonym(s) : Sapindus laurifolius Vahl; Sapindus abstergens Roxb. ex Wight & Arn.; Sapindus acutus Roxb. ex Wight & Arn.; Sapindus maduriensis Perr.; Sapindus mollis Blume
  • Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Sapindus trifoliatus L.
  • Common name : Soapnut Tree
  • Vernacular name :
    • Kunkudu, Homli, Naruvolu, Antuvaladakai (Kannada)
    • Rentha, Maktamanji, Rettia (Oria)
    • Kunkudu, Ritachettu (Telugu)
    • Aritha, Chavakai, Pasaka, Pasakotta, Ponnankotta, Soapinkaimaram, Urulungi, Urunjikai, Uruvangi, Uravanjikkaya (Malayalam)
    • Aristhaka (Sanskrit)
    • Reeta, Reetae (Hindi)
    • Manippungu, Puchikottai (Tamil)
  • Habit : Tree
  • Habitat : Tropical semi-evergreen forests, Tropical moist deciduous forests, Tropical evergreen forests, open forests, also in the plains
  • 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-April
  • Distribution :
    • Andhra Pradesh : Vishakapatnam district
    • Karnataka : Bengaluru district, Chikkamagaluru district, Davanagare district, Hassan district, Kolar district, Mysuru district, Shivamogga district, Udupi district
    • Kerala : All districts of Kerala
    • Maharashtra : All districts of Maharashtra
    • Tamil Nadu : Coimbatore district, Kanyakumari district, Madurai district, The Nilgiri district, Tiruchirapalli district, Tirunelveli district
  • Native : Andaman Islands, Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
  • Exotic/Native : Native
  • World Distribution : Andaman Islands, Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
  • Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
  • Literature :
    • H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1994- Flora of Orissa Vol. 1
    • Naidu, M.T. & O.A. Kumar 2015. Tree species diversity in the Eastern Ghats of Northern Andhra Pradesh, India. JoTT 7 (8): 7443-7459
    • Sasidharan, N. 2011. Flowering plants of Kerala. DVD, V 2, KFRI.
    • M.R. Almeida (1996). Flora of Maharashtra vol.
    • 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 trifoliatus. Downloaded on 13 October 2024.

Botanical Description

Field Image(s)

Habitat

India Distribution

World Distribution

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