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(Last Modified On 7/15/2013)
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(Last Modified On 7/15/2013)
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Family
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SAPINDACEAE
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Contributor
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THOMAS B. CROAT
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Description
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Trees, shrubs, lianas or herbaceous vines. Leaves alternate, simple, paripin- nate, imparipinnate or compound-pinnate; climbing genera with watchspring tendrils, milky sap and usually stipitate leaves and often with composite wood (consisting of two or more separate bundles, usually one central bundle and three peripheral bundles); leaflets entire, dentate or lobate, mostly pinnately veined. Inflorescences of thyrses or cincinni disposed in bracteolate racemes or panicles. Flowers polygamous or dioecious, regular or irregular, generally small and white; sepals (0) 4 or 5, free or somewhat connate, often unequal, mostly imbricate in bud; petals (0) 3-6, usually clawed, often barbate or squamate within, equal or unequal, imbricate; disc various, commonly annular, complete or incomplete, often glandular; stamens (5-) 8(-10), commonly hypogynous and inserted within the disc, the filaments usually filiform or subulate, often villous, the anthers 2-celled, versatile and basifixed, introrse, longitudinally dehiscent; ovary superior, 2( or 3)-locular, (2 or)3-carpellate and lobed accordingly, the styles simple! or di- vided, terminal on the ovary or eccentric, the ovules anatropous, camplytropous or amphitropous, 1 or 2 per locule, affixed to the axis, ascending. Fruits capsular or drupaceous, variously dehiscent or indehiscent, entire or lobate, often con- sisting of 2 or 3 samaras, the carpels often separating at maturity from a central axis; seeds globose or compressed, arillate or naked; endosperm absent; embryo usually thick, often plicate or spirally convolute, the cotyledons usually plano- convex, unequal, the radicle short, inflexed, inferior.
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Habit
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Trees, shrubs, lianas or herbaceous vines
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Distribution
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The family Sapindaceae has 150 genera of diverse form and habit. It inhabits all tropical and subtropical regions of the world.
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Note
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The family is divided into two subfamilies, the Sapindoideae (Eusapindaceae) with a single ovule per locule and the Dodonaeoideae (Dyssapindaceae) with 2-several ovules per locule. All but 5 of the 14 tribes and all but about 30 of the 150 genera are in the subfamily Sapindoideae. Most genera are of the Old World, especially Africa and Asia but also Madagascar and Australia. Thirty-six genera are known from the New World. Of these, Paullinia, Ser- jania, Allophylus, Talisia, Cupania and Matayba are the only important genera in terms of numbers of species. Paullinia and Ser/ania are by far the largest and perhaps the most complex genera in the family. Serfania is a genus usually in- habiting weedy areas and forest edges. Consequently, it has been better col- lected. Paullinia, on the other hand, commonly occurs in forests. Because many good forest habitats are being opened to collectors many new species of Paullinia will continue to be discovered. Panama appears to be richer than other parts of Central America in numbers of species for the family. The sapindaceous flower (see Serjania atrolineata; Fig. 12) may be irregular, and if so, usually only 4 petals are present. In these cases the staminal cluster and the pistil occupy essentially opposite sides of the disc, the petals nearest the staminal cluster are frequently enlarged and are termed anterior petals, the other two petals are lateral petals. The petals all bear complex scales from near the base, and at least the anterior petals are borne on or are subtended by a swollen disc gland. The scales are thin and expanded in the basal portion and bear a thickened, often colored, frequently bibbed crest at the apex. The apical portion of the scale proper (basal portion) bears a decurrent appendage. The lateral margins of the basal portion of the scale are usually curved inward to form addi- tional protection for the nectar which accumulates around the base of the petals. Since it has not been possible to readily determine whether stamens are func- tional, all flowers bearing well-developed stamens and pistils are here called bi- sexual. They may indeed all be functionally pistillate. Staminate flowers are more easily identified, as the pistil in these flowers is very much aborted. Paullinia and Serjania are sometimes impossible to distinguish vegetatively, as are Cupania and Matayba (see discussion following these genera). Some expla- nation of leaf shape is warranted for certain genera. Biternate leaves of Serjania and Paullinia are compound leaves with 3 sets of 3 leaflets (see Serjania atroli- neata; Fig. 12). Ternate-pinnate leaves found on Paullinia are compound leaves which have one or more sets of ternate leaflets at and/or near the base of the leaf, the remainder being merely pinnate. The term "cataphyll" as used in Talisia princeps is not directly analogous to cataphyll as used in other families such as Araceae where the structure has evolved to form protection for new leaves. It does however qualify as a cataphyll, i.e., an early leaf form of a plant. The vein axils of the lower leaf surface of a number of sapindaceous species bear domatia. The domatia may vary from distinctly foveolate to web shaped, being open only on the upper edge. The term as used here gives no assurance that they are actually inhabited by insects. In other species the vein axils are merely densely pubescent and are described as barbate or tufted. In addition to the three cultivated genera, Blighia, Filicium, and Melicoccus, included in this treatment, one additional sapindaceous genus should be men- tioned. The lychee, Litchi chinensis Sonn., might be expected in Panama though no specimens of it are known presently. The family has no important uses though Sapindus fruits have been used for This content downloaded from 192.104.39.2 on Wed, 26 Jun 2013 13:07:09 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions1976] CROAT-FLORA OF PANAMA (Family 108. Sapindaceae) 421 soap and many species have been used as a "barbasco" or fish poison, thus the frequency of that common name in the family.
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Reference
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Adams, C. D. 1972. Flowering Plants of Jamaica. University of West Indies, Mona, Jamaica. Duke, J. A. 1968. Darien Ethnobotanical Dictionary. Batelle Memorial Insti- tute, Columbus, Ohio. Radlkofer, L. 1933-1934. Sapindaceae. In A. Engler (editor), Das Pflanzen- reich. IV. 165 (Heft 98 a-h). Standley, P. C. 1928. Flora of the Panama Canal Zone. Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 27: 1-416. Standley, P.C. & J. A. Steyermark. 1949. Sapindaceae. In Flora of Guatemala. Fieldi- ana, Bot. (Part 6)24: 234-273.
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Key
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a. Plants scandent, bearing tendrils. b. Fruit a samara, usually 3 together, with terminal or basal wings. c. Seed-bearing part of fruit positioned at apex of samara; leaves with 3-many leaflets; flowers slightly irregular ...... 13. Serfania cc. Seed-bearing part of fruit positioned at base of samara; leaves with 3 leaflets; flowers regular ...... 15. Thinouia bb. Fruit not a samara, often alate dorsally. d. Fruit a thick-walled capsule; seeds subtended by an aril; stems ligneous even above ...... 10. Paullinia dd. Fruit membranous; seeds never arillate; stems herbaceous above. e. Leaves biternate (with 3 sets of 3 leaflets); fruits inflated ...... 3. Cardiospermum ee. Leaves 3-foliolate; fruits never inflated ...... 16. Urvillea aa. Plants erect, never bearing tendrils. f. Leaves simple ...... 6. Dodonaea ff. Leaves compound. g. Leaves bipinnate, with numerous, small leaflets ...... 5. Dipterodendron gg. Leaves once-pinnate, sometimes with only 2 or 3 leaflets. h. Leaves 3-foliolate with a terminal leaflet; sepals 4; persistent style ec- centric on the fruit ...... 1. Allophylus hh. Leaves with several leaflets, usually without a terminal leaflet; sepals or calyx lobes usually 5; persistent style terminal or subterminal on the fruit. i. Fruit dehiscent, capsular. j. Stamens long exserted; fruit usually 5 cm long or longer; culti- vated trees ...... 2. Blighia jj. Stamens little if at all exserted or less than 4 mm long; fruit less than 3 cm long; native trees. k. Capsule usually 2-lobed, deeply lobed to about half its length, glabrous outside; seed not arillate; petals lacking scales on inner surface; embryo incumbent, notorrhizal (the radicle po- sitioned against the back of one of the cotyledons, the cotyle- dons thus incumbent) ...... 11. Pseudima kk. Capsule usually 3-lobed (2-lobed in Cupania livida and Matayba ingaefolia but densely pubescent outside), rounded to emarginate at apex, not deeply lobed; seed usually envel- oped at base by a fleshy white aril; petals with scales on in- ner surface; embryo accumbent, pleurorhizal (the radicle po- sitioned against one edge of the cotyledon, the cotyledons thus accumbent). 1. Sepals distinct; blades usually markedly toothed and often conspicuously pubescent ...... 4. Cupania 11. Sepals united; blades usually entire and glabrous or nearly so ...... 8. Matayba ii. Fruit indehiscent, dry or fleshy. m. Fruit distinctly 2- or 3-lobed, one or more of the lobes very small, representing an abortive cell; anthers versatile ...... 12. Sapindus mm. Fruit usually not lobed; anthers basifixed. n. Leaf rachis distinctly winged ...... 7. Filicium nn. Leaf rachis not winged. o. Leaves usually with more than 4 pairs of leaflets (as few as 5 leaflets in T. hexaphylla); seeds ellipsoid; slender shrubs; native species ...... 14. Talisia oo. Leaves usually with 2 pairs of leaflets; seeds globose; trees with stout trunks; cultivated species ...... 9. Melicoccus
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