SapindalesArticle Free Pass
Distribution and abundance
Included within Sapindaceae are the genera from two former families, Aceraceae and Hippocastanaceae. The most important genus in Aceraceae was Acer (maple), with about 110 species, which is found across the north temperate zone from western North America to Japan. Maple trees form an important component of the deciduous forests of North America, Europe, and Asia. The distribution of the genus dips southward to Guatemala and through Southeast Asia to Malaysia and the Philippines, where species may be abundant in tropical mountain forests. The major centre of distribution for the genus is China, where half the maple species occur; about three-quarters of the species are Asian. There are eight species of Acer with compound leaves that are sometimes placed in a separate genus, Negundo. Another former member of Aceraceae is Dipteronia, a genus of central and southern China with two species.
Hippocastanaceae had only two genera of trees and shrubs. Aesculus (horse chestnuts and buckeyes), with about 13 deciduous species, has an interrupted distribution in temperate forests from western and eastern North America (seven species) to the Balkan Peninsula in Europe (one species) and in Asia from India to China and Japan (five species). The two evergreen species of Billia occur as isolated trees in tropical forests from southern Mexico to northern South America.
Rutaceae, or the citrus, or rue, family, consists of shrubs, trees, and a few herbs. It has about 160 genera and some 1,800 species, which are widespread in distribution but occur primarily in tropical and warm temperate areas. The largest numbers of genera and species are found in southern Africa and Australia. Many of these grow in semiarid woodlands. The largest genus, Zanthoxylum (about 250 species), occurs in temperate North America and East Asia and throughout the tropics. Melicope (about 150 species, including the former genus Pelea) occurs from Indo-Malaysia through Australia and New Zealand to the Pacific Islands. Agathosma (135 species) is endemic to South Africa. Boronia (about 100 species) is one of the largest endemic Australian genera. Haplophyllum (about 70 species) occurs from the Mediterranean region to eastern Siberia.
Anacardiaceae, or the sumac family, consists of 70 genera and about 600 species of trees, shrubs, and woody vines. They occur mostly in the tropics and subtropics, but a few genera extend into both the north and south temperate zones. The largest genus by far is Rhus, with about 200 species in the subtropics and temperate areas of the world. (Although some botanists prefer a narrow circumscription for the genus, in which case it contains only about 35 species.) There are no other genera of comparable size, but Semecarpus (occurring from Indo-Malaysia to Micronesia) has about 60 species, Mangifera (occurring in Southeast Asia and Indo-Malaysia to Solomon Islands) has about 40 species, and Schinus (occurring from Mexico to Argentina) has about 30 species.
Burseraceae, or the frankincense family, has 18 genera and 550 species of trees and shrubs. The family occurs throughout the tropics and is especially common in tropical America and northeastern Africa, Madagascar, and the Arabian Peninsula. Many species dominate the forests or woodlands in which they grow. The largest genus, Commiphora (190 species), is found mostly in the drier areas of northeastern Africa, Madagascar, and from Arabia to India. Protium (85 species) occurs mostly in wet lowland areas of tropical America but with a few species in Madagascar and Malaysia. Canarium (75 species) occurs in the forests of the Old World tropics. Bursera (50 species) is found in tropical America, with its centre of diversity in Mexico.
Meliaceae, or the mahogany family, has 52 genera and 621 species of trees, shrubs, and a few perennial herbs. Many are large, widespread, and common or dominant trees in tropical and subtropical primary and secondary forests, with only a few species in temperate areas. About two-thirds of the species occur in the six largest genera: Aglaia (110 species) in Indo-Malaysia and tropical Australia; Trichilia (85 species), which occur commonly as understory trees in lowland forests from Mexico to the West Indies, tropical South America, and tropical Africa; Dysoxylum (80 species) from Indo-Malaysia to the islands of the Pacific; Turraea (60 species) in tropical and southern Africa to Australia; Chisocheton (50 species) in Indo-Malaysia; and Guarea (50 species) in tropical America and tropical Africa.
Simaroubaceae, or the quassia family, consists of 19 genera and 95 species of trees and shrubs that are mostly tropical in distribution. Quassia, with 40 species in the rainforests of tropical America and Africa, contains trees and shrubs that are the source of bitter-tasting compounds used as a vermifuge (to kill intestinal worms) and as insecticides.
Economic and ecological importance
Many members of the order are important economically, particularly for their timber or fruits. A few tropical species of the family Sapindaceae produce useful wood for construction, furniture, or fuel, but many are better known for their fruits. Blighia sapida (akee) from West Africa, Pappea capensis (wild prune) from tropical and southern Africa, and Pometia pinnata from New Guinea are the larger trees of the family that provide timber. Akee and Pometia also have edible fruits. Akee, which looks and tastes like scrambled eggs when cooked, is the national fruit of Jamaica, where it is widely grown and eaten; it is, however, poisonous if not cooked at the correct stage of ripeness—i.e., after the fruit has opened naturally and is still fresh. Only the fleshy aril around the seed is eaten.
Other popular tropical fruits from Sapindaceae come from Litchi chinensis (litchi), Dimocarpus longan (longan), Nephelium lappaceum (rambutan), and Aphania senegalensis (Senegal cherry) from the Old World and Melicoccus bijugatus (mamoncillo) from the New World. Many of these are widely cultivated.
Useful oils are expressed from the seeds of wild prune and Schleichera oleosa (Ceylon oak); the latter is the source of macassar oil, and this species harbours Laccifer lacca, the insect that produces lac, a resinous excretion that is a source of shellac.
The seeds of the Brazilian and Paraguayan vine Paullinia cupana (guarana) are ground to make a beverage that contains three times as much caffeine as found in a cup of coffee; a stimulating tea used in pre-Columbian South America, guarana became a popular ingredient in energy drinks beginning in the 20th century. The bark of Paullinia yoco (yoco) has similar stimulant properties.
The fruits of Sapindus saponaria (soapberry), a tropical American species, contain saponins (chemical substances that produce soapy lather in water) and are used as soap. The genus name Sapindus means “soap of the Indians.” A number of members of Sapindaceae have saponins in their tissues. In the American tropics the indigenous peoples sometimes crush the leaves and branches of Paullinia, Serjania, and related genera and throw them into pools or small streams to stun fish.
A few species of Sapindaceae are grown as ornamentals. Koelreuteria paniculata (goldenrain tree), a small tree from China, Korea, and Japan, is commonly cultivated in temperate regions for its large pyramidal clusters of yellow flowers and conspicuous bladderlike fruits. Cardiospermum halicacabum (balloon vine), an annual from the tropics and subtropics, is grown for its small balloonlike fruits in many areas, where it sometimes escapes and becomes naturalized. Dodonaea viscosa (hopbush), a widespread tropical shrub, is cultivated in warmer areas for its colourful foliage. Akee is grown not only for its fruits but also as a shade tree.
The best-known member of the previously recognized family Aceraceae is Acer saccharum (sugar maple). It has sugar-rich sap that is tapped in the early spring in eastern North America in order to make maple syrup and maple sugar. Sugar maple has been described as the most valuable hardwood in North America. Its figured wood (curly maple and bird’s-eye maple) is valued for cabinetry and furniture; the plain wood is used for construction, flooring, and interior finish. The hard, strong, heavy close-grained wood is often beautifully patterned. The sugar maple is a valuable ornamental and shade tree because of its thick shapely crown and the bright yellow, orange, and red autumnal coloration. In addition, it yields valuable firewood. Other North American maple species are less important as timber, paper pulp, sugar-producing, and ornamental trees. A few European species, and more Asian species, are sources of timber or grown as ornamentals for their foliage and leaf colours.
Next to the maples within Sapindaceae, members of the previously recognized family Hippocastanaceae probably have the most economic significance in temperate areas, in spite of their small numbers. Aesculus hippocastanum (horse chestnut) of the Balkan mountain region and the North American buckeyes—A. glabra (Ohio buckeye) and A. flava (yellow buckeye)—have light, soft, tough fine-grained wood. Once used for artificial limbs, splints, and various kinds of woodware, the wood is now most important as a source of paper pulp. The leaves and seeds are poisonous, and extracts from them are employed by certain indigenous peoples to stun fish. Selected varieties and hybrids of Aesculus are frequently cultivated as ornamentals for their flowers or foliage or as shade trees.
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