Botanical Family · Sapindales

Sapindaceae

Soapberry/Lychee family

22 speciesOrder Sapindales8+ well-known plants

Trees with compound leaves and arillate seeds. Many have saponins. Includes lychee, longan, rambutan, bael, and soapberry.

Browse all 22 species ↓
Representative SAPINDACEAE specimen
Representative specimen · Sapindaceae
Key pattern

Alternate, usually pinnately compound leaves on trees, shrubs, or tendril-climbers; small, often unisexual and slightly irregular flowers ripen into a fruit whose seed is wrapped in a bright, fleshy aril, as in lychee's edible flesh.

Many genera contain saponins — soap-like compounds in bark, fruit, or seed that froth when shaken with water, the trait that gives the family its name (soapberry).

Identify the species

Which Sapindaceae species is this?

Answer what you can see and narrow it down to a single Sapindaceae species.

Click a node to trace its path · pinch or scroll to zoom · drag to pan
Leaf TypeIs the leaf a single blade, or divided into leaflets?
Palmately compound (leaflets radiate from one point)
Pinnately compound
Pinnately compound (leaflets in rows along a stalk)
Simple (single blade)
Trifoliate (three leaflets)
Fruit SurfaceWhat does the fruit surface look like?
Hairy
Inflated (balloon-like)
Not sure / other
Smooth
HabitWhat is the plant's growth habit?
Shrub
Tree
HabitWhat is the plant's growth habit?
Climbing vine
Shrub
Tree

How to recognise the Sapindaceae family

  • 01

    Leaf arrangement: alternate

  • 02

    Leaf type: pinnate compound

  • 03

    Growth forms: tree/shrub/vine

  • 04

    Inflorescence: panicle/raceme

  • 05

    Fruit: capsule/samara/drupe

Typical leaf characters

Characters typical of the family — individual species can vary.

Typical flower & fruit

Typical of the family — flowering plants only; species can vary.

Notable members

All 22 species in SAPINDACEAE

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