About Soapnut Tree
Sapindus trifoliatus, the South India soapnut or three-leaf soapberry, is a species of flowering plant in the family Sapindaceae, native to Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, the Andaman Islands, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka, and introduced to eastern tropical Africa, Rodrigues, and Trinidad and Tobago. An evergreen tree reaching 25 m (82 ft), its seeds are rich in saponins, and are both collected in the wild and cultivated to make soap for washing fabrics.
Description adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Sapindus trifoliatus
- Genus
- Sapindus
- Family
- SAPINDACEAE
- Habit
- Tree
- Habitat
- Semievergreen and moist deciduous forests, also in the plains
- Distribution
- South Asia
- Flowering & fruiting
- October-April
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Local Names
- Hindi
- फेनिल phenil, रिष्ट risht, रिष्टक rishtak
- Bengali
- ৰীঠা Ritha
- Tamil
- புனலை punalai, பூந்தி punthi, பூவந்தி puvanti
- Telugu
- కుంకుడుచెట్టు kunkuduchettu, ఫేనిలము phenilamu
- Kannada
- ಅಂಟುವಾಳ Antuvaala, ನೊರೆಕಾಯಿ Norekaayi, ಕೂಗಟೆ ಮರ Koogate mara
- Malayalam
- ചവക്കായ് cavakkaay, പശക്കൊട്ടമരം pasakkottamaram, ഉറുവഞ്ചി uruvanchi
- Marathi
- फेनिल phenil, रिंठी rinthi, रिठा ritha
Sapindaceae
Soapberry/Lychee family
Soapnut Tree belongs to the Sapindaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the SAPINDACEAE family →Snap it. Know it.
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