Sapindus
genus of plants
Sapindus is a genus of about thirteen species of shrubs and small trees in the maple and lychee family, Sapindaceae and tribe Sapindeae. It is native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the world. The genus includes both deciduous and evergreen species. Members of the genus are commonly known as soapberries or soapnuts because the pulp of the fruit is used to make soap and shampoo. The generic name is derived from the Latin words sapo, meaning "soap", and indicus, meaning "of India".
The leaves are alternate, 15–40 cm (5.9–15.7 in) long, pinnate (except in S. oahuensis, which has simple leaves), with 14–30 leaflets, the terminal leaflet often absent. The flowers form in large panicles, each flower small, creamy white. The fruit is a small leathery-skinned drupe 1–2 cm (0.4–0.8 in) in diameter, yellow ripening blackish, containing one seed. Fossils date back to the Cretaceous.
Ecology
Sapindus species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) species including Endoclita malabaricus.
The public source identifies “Sapindus” as genus of plants. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Sapindus, genus and plants.
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A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Sapindus”, the useful work is to connect “genus of plants” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q321451. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
Current terminology should not be projected backward without checking the classification used when the underlying evidence was created. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Sapindus” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.