The Sapindaceae

"Soapberry Family"


Silver Maple	Ruby Horse Chestnut

The Sapindaceae family is comprised of 147 genera made up of 2,215 different species. Serjania, the major genus of the family is made up of 215 species and the Acer genus has 111-200 species. The Sapindaceae are primarily located in Tropical to subtropical areas extending into the north temperate region. They are found in abundance in Asia and America. In the United States and Canada there are 19 genera and 64 species, the Acer, Aesculus, and Sapindus.

Click here for a distribution map of the Sapindaceae in the U.S.A.

Vegetative Characters

trees, shrubs, or woody vines
leaves pinnately compound and sometimes simple, venation various
leaves alternate or opposite, deciduous or persistant

Reproductive Characters

inflourescence indeterminate of various forms
flowers actinomorphic or zygomorphic, perfect or imperfect, usually hypogenous, minute to occasionally showy
well-developed extrastaminal or sometimes intrastaminal disc
calyx usually of 4 to 5 sepals, distinct to sometimes basally connate.
corolla usually with 4-5 petals or absent, often clawed, often with scaly or hair tufted basal appendages.
androecium of 10 stamens but often reduced to 8 or fewer in 2 whorles variously inserted within, around or on the disc.
filiaments distinct, often hairy and anthers dehiscining longitudinally.
gynoecium of 1 pistil, 2- to 3-carpellate.
superior ovary, axial placentation, sometimes parietal
1 to 3 style(s)
fruit is a loculicidal capsule, or a nut arilloid berry, or schizocarp.
often 1-seeded

Diagnostic Characters

trees, shrubs, or woody vines
sessile ovules
androecium reduced to 8 or fewer stamen

Economic Importance/Fun Facts

edible seeds or arils from Blighia but deadly poisonous if not ripe also edible from Euphoria, Litchi, Litchi, and Melicoccus
sugar and syrup from sap of Acer
herbal medicines, timber and ornamental uses

Evolutionary Adaptations and Relationships

Sapindaceae are defined to now include Aceraceae and Hippocastinaceae (Zomlefer 1994)
the monophyly of this group is defined by both morphological characteristics as well as rbcl sequences (Judd et al 1999)
the morphological data suggests that if the Aceraceae and the Hippocastinaceae are excluded the Sapindaceae are then a paraphyletic group (judd et al 1999)

Glossary of Terms

Loculicidal: Longitudinally dehiscent between the partitions of the locule.

References and Links

Zomlefer, Wendy B., 1994. Guide to Flowering Plant Families. The University of North Carolina Press Chapel Hill, NC USA.
Judd, W. S., C. S. Campbell, E. A. Kellogg, P. S. Stevens. 1999. Plant Systematics: a phylogenetic approach. Sinauer Associates, Inc. Sunderland, MA U.S.A.
http://www.noble.org/imagegallery/woodhtml/wood1-66/W31.jpg
http://glossary.gardenweb.com/glossary
http://bio.bd.psu.edu/plant_web/Ruby_Horse_Chestnut_Tree_medium.JPG
http://www.meemelink.com/images/SAPINDACEAE.Ungnadia_speciosa.jpg
http://www.csdl.tamu.edu/FLORA/Veg&Repro/V&R091.jpg
http://www.hort.uconn.edu/plants/campus/uconn/dec/walk9/eight/kpan.jpg

Pictures


Ungnadia speciosa	Sapindaceae


Sapindaceae dehiscing fruit	Koelreuteria paniculata

For questions or feedback, contact: Kelly McKay