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Sapindus emarginatus
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Family:
SAPINDACEAE
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Citation: Sapindus emarginatus Vahl, Symb. Bot. 3: 54. 1794; Gamble, Fl. Pres. Madras 250(178). 1918; Babu, Fl. Malappuram Dist. 144. 1990; Sasidh., Fl. Periyar Tiger Reserve 80. 1998; Sasidh., Fl. Chinnar WLS 78. 1999; P.C. Pant in N.P. Singh et al., Fl. India 5: 381. 2000; Sasidh., Fl. Parambikulam WLS 75. 2002; P. Singh & E. Vajr. in P. Daniel, Fl. Kerala 1: 784. 2005.
Sapindus trifoliata sensu Hiern in Hook. f., Fl. Brit. India 1: 682. 1875,p.p., non L. 1753.
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Malayalam Name(s):
Chuvappukamaram, Pachakotta, Pasakottamaram, Soppinkaimaram, Soapumka, Uravanchi, Urungi
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Tamil name(s):
Arishta
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English name(s):
Soapnut tree
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Description:
Trees, to 10 m high, bark dark-brown, rough; branchlets tomentose. Leaves paripinnate, alternate, exstipulate; rachis 25-100 mm, stout, tomentose, swollen at base; leaflets 4 or 6, opposite or subopposite; petiolule 2-3 mm, stout, tomentose; lamina 3-15 x 1.5-5.5 cm, oblong-obovate, oblanceolate or oblong, base cuneate or obtuse, apex obtuse, round and emarginate, margin entire, glabrescent above, softly tomentose beneath and midrib above, coriaceous; lateral nerves 4-12 pairs, pinnate, prominent, ascending, secondary laterals prominent, intercostae reticulate, prominent. Flowers polygamous, greenish-white, in terminal and axillary panicles; branches pubescent; sepals 5, 2-seriate, 3-4 mm, ovate-orbicular, unequal, ciliate, imbricate; petals 5, obovate, 2.5 mm, equal, clawed, glabrous on the inner surface except for 1-2 tufts of white hairs above the claw; disc annular, 5-lobed, strigose; stamens 8, inserted within the disc; filaments unequal, pilose, free; anthers oblong; ovary superior, trigonus, 3-celled, ovule 1 in each cell; style terminal; stigma 3-lobed. Fruit a drupe of 3 indehiscent cocci, combined about half way up and then separating with saponaceous fibrous pericarp; smooth and slightly pubescent when young, later glabrous and wrinkled; seeds black, globose, smooth.
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Habit:
Tree
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Flowering & Fruiting:
November-March
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District(s):
Palakkad, Idukki, Malappuram
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Medicinal:
Yes
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Habitat:
Dry deciduous forests and margins of grasslands
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Distribution:
South Asia
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Aquatic:
No
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Epiphyte(s):
No
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Saprophyte:
No
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Stem parasite:
No
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Root parasite:
No
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Flower colour(s):
Green, White
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Weed:
No
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Monocot/Dicot:
Dicotyledonous Plants
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Exotic:
No
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Garden:
No
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Edible:
No
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Vegetable:
No
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Endemic to:
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IUCN status:
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Altitude:
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Localities:
Churullipetty, Brandippara, Keerapady, Pooyamkutty
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