The Sapindaceae are a family of flowering plants in the order Sapindales known as the soapberry family. It contains 138 genera and 1,858 accepted species. Examples include horse chestnut, maples, ackee and lychee.

The Sapindaceae occur in temperate to tropical regions, many in laurel forest habitat, throughout the world. Many are laticiferous, i.e. they contain latex, a milky sap, and many contain mildly toxic saponins. The largest genera are Serjania, Paullinia, Allophylus and Acer.

Description

Plants of this family have habits ranging from trees to herbaceous plants to lianas. The leaves of the tropical genera are usually spirally alternate, while those of the temperate maples (Acer), Aesculus, and a few other genera are opposite. They are most often pinnately compound, but are palmately compound in Aesculus, and simply palmate in Acer. The petiole has a swollen base and lacks stipules. The family is divided into four subfamilies, Dodonaeoideae (about 38 genera), Sapindoideae (about 114 genera), Hippocastanoideae (5 genera) and Xanthoceroideae (1 genus). The largest genera are Serjania (about 220 species), Paullinia (about 180 species), and Allophylus (about 200 species) in the tropical Sapindoideae and Acer (about 110 species) in the temperate Hippocastanoideae.

The largely temperate genera formerly separated in the families Aceraceae (Acer, Dipteronia) and Hippocastanaceae (Aesculus, Billia, Handeliodendron) were included within a more broadly circumscribed Sapindaceae by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group. Recent research has confirmed the inclusion of these genera in the Sapindaceae.

Economically valuable species

The Sapindaceae include many species of economically valuable tropical fruit, including the lychee, longan, pitomba, guinip/mamoncillo, korlan, rambutan, pulasan, and ackee. Other products include guaraná, soapberries, and maple syrup.

Some species of maple and buckeye are valued for their wood, while several other genera, such as Koelreuteria, Cardiospermum, and Ungnadia, are popular ornamentals. Schleichera trijuga is the source of Indian macassar oil. Saponins extracted from the drupe of Sapindus species are effective surfactants and are used commercially in cosmetics and detergents.

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File:Ackee 001.jpg|Ackee (Blighia sapida) fruit

File:Melicoccus bijugatus (Sapindaceae).jpg|Guinep/ Mamoncillo (Melicoccus bijugatus) fruit

File:Lychee fruit.jpg|Lychee (Litchi chinensis) fruit

File:Dimocarpus longan males F 070203 035 ime ed.jpg|Alupag (Dimocarpus didyma) fruits

File:Essa fruta se divide em tres como o guaraná.jpg|Guaraná (Paullinia cupana) fruit

File:Syrup grades large.JPG|Maple syrup (from Acer saccharum)

</gallery>

References

  • Sapindaceae in BoDD – Botanical Dermatology Database
  • USDA Agricultural Research Service: Fruits and seeds of Sapindaceae.