Volume 7 > Part 1 > Year 1999 > Page 239 > Sapindaceae > Sapindus

Sapindus rarak DC.wfo-0001135253

Prod. 1: 608. 1824; Radlk. in Engl., Pflanzenr. 98: 663. 1932; Leenh. in Fl. Males., Ser. 1, Spermat. 11: 714, fig. 70d. 1994.— Dittelasma rarak (DC.) Hook.f. in Benth. & Hook.f., Gen. Pl. 1: 395. 1862. Fig. 24d.

Accepted Name : This is currently accepted.

Synonyms & Citations :

Description : Trees up to 42 m high; bark greyish, flaking, cracked. Leaves (6–)8–13-jugate. Leaflets 7–16 by 2–3.5 cm, chartaceous; base oblique; apex (obtuse to) long acuminate; glabrous on both sides. Inflorescences up to 35 cm long. Flowers zygomorphic, white. Sepals broad-ovate to obovate, 2–4 by 1.5–2 mm, densely pilose outside. Petals 4, ovate to elliptic, ca 3 by 1–2 mm, short-clawed; scale ca ⅓ shorter than blade, margin and apex densely woolly. Disc semi-annular. Stamens: filaments up to 2.5 mm long; anthers 0.3–0.5 mm long. Fruits red, lobes ca 2 by 1.8 cm. Seeds shiny black, 1.2–1.5 cm diam.

Thailand : NORTHERN: Mae Hong Son (Kun Yuam Noi), Chiang Mai (Doi Chiang Dao, Doi Suthep, Maesa Botanical Garden, San Pa Kia), Phrae (Huai Khanim), Phitsanulok (Tung Salaeng Luang NP); SOUTH-WESTERN: Kanchanaburi.

Distribution : India (Assam), Burma, Indochina, Taiwan, Malay Peninsula, Indonesia (Sumatra, Java, Lesser Sunda Islands).

Ecology : Mainly in deciduous forests, but also in dry evergreen forests and along streams, 150–1,600 m alt. Flowering: April, May; fruiting: May–November.

Vernacular : Cha-sae (ชะแซ), sa-le-de (ซะเหล่เด)(Karen-Mae Hong Son); ma sak (หมากซัก), ma sak (มะซัก), sompoi thet (ส้มป่อยเทศ)(Northern); makham di khwai (มะคำดีควาย)(Northern, Central); prakham di khwai (ประคำดีควาย)(Central).

Uses: Bark used to make a dish called Ya mahok. Wood hard, but not durable. The fruits are used as an alternative for soap, because of their high amount of saponin; they are also used in a dish called Ya ke pik. Seeds formerly used as buttons and beads. Probably formerly often cultivated.