Sapindaceae, also known as the soapberry family, is a family of flowering plants in the order Sapindales. There are about 140–150 genera with 1400–2000 species, including maple, horse chestnut and lychee.
Sapindaceae members occur in temperate to tropical regions, many in laurel forest habitat, throughout the world. Many are lactiferous, i.e. they contain milky sap, and many contain mildly toxic saponins with soap-like qualities in either the foliage and/or the seeds, or roots. The largest genera are Serjania, Paullinia, Acer and Allophylus.
The largely temperate genera formerly separated in the families Aceraceae (Acer, Dipteronia) and Hippocastanaceae (Aesculus, Billia, Handeliodendron) were included within a more broadly circumscribed Sapindaceae by the APG. Recent research has confirmed the inclusion of these genera in Sapindaceae.
Sapindaceae, also known as the soapberry family, is a family of flowering plants in the order Sapindales. There are about 140–150 genera with 1400–2000 species, including maple, horse chestnut and lychee.
Sapindaceae members occur in temperate to tropical regions, many in laurel forest habitat, throughout the world. Many are lactiferous, i.e. they contain milky sap, and many contain mildly toxic saponins with soap-like qualities in either the foliage and/or the seeds, or roots. The largest genera are Serjania, Paullinia, Acer and Allophylus.
The largely temperate genera formerly separated in the families Aceraceae (Acer, Dipteronia) and Hippocastanaceae (Aesculus, Billia, Handeliodendron) were included within a more broadly circumscribed Sapindaceae by the APG. Recent research has confirmed the inclusion of these genera in Sapindaceae.