Soap Nut Species

Genus Information: Sapindus is a genus of about twelve species of shrubs and small trees in the Sapindaceae (soapberry family), native to warm temperate to tropical regions in both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. The genus includes both deciduous and evergreen species.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. Species Information: * Sapindus delavayi NA China, India. * Sapindus drummondii Western Soapberry Southern United States, Mexico * Sapindus emarginatus NA Southern Asia. * Sapindus marginatus Florida Soapberry Florida to South Carolina * Sapindus mukorossi Chinese Soapberry India, Southern China * Sapindus oahuensis Hawaii Soapberry, Lonomea Hawaii (endemic) * Sapindus rarak NA Southeast Asia * Sapindus saponaria Wingleaf Soapberry Florida Keys, Caribbean, Central America. * Sapindus tomentosus NA China. * Sapindus trifoliatus South India Soapnut, Three-leaf Soapberry Southern India, Pakistan. The Sapindus Mukorossi tree is one of several that bear fruits that are commonly referred to as soap nuts, of them the soapnuts from the Sapindus Mukorossi tree have the highest saponin content. Saponin is a natural detergent commonly used for cleaning among many other things. Soapnuts have been used medically as an expectorant, emetic, contraceptive, and for treatment of excessive salivation, epilepsy, psoriasis, head lice and migraines. Studies have shown that saponin from soap nuts inhibit tumor cell growth. Soap nuts are among the list of herbs and minerals in Ayurveda. They are a popular ingredient in Ayurvedic shampoos and cleansers. They are used in Ayurvedic medicine as a treatment for eczema and psoriasis. Soap nuts have gentle insecticidal properties and are traditionally used for removing lice from the scalp. Soapnuts have long been used in the Western world for soap production, usually together with many chemical additives which are not necessary for the actual washing process and are damaging to the user as well as our environment. Soapnuts have become a very popular environmentally friendly alternative to these manufactured chemical detergents.The seeds tend to germinate easily. To ensure the best results for germination, the seed is soaked in warm water for at least 24 hours and then sown (some prefer to scarify the seed surface prior to soaking by filing, scraping or carefully striking), either directly in already prepared pits at 5m x 5m (16 ft 16 ft) spacing or sown in pots filled with clayey loam soil mixed with farmyard manure or similarly prepared nursery beds. Sapindus species are also a common food source for the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Endoclita Malabaricus.