Soapberry

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Soapberry
Soapberry, common name for a medium-size family of mostly woody flowering plants widely distributed in tropical areas, and for its representative genus.

The soapberry family includes important tropical timber, such as akee, native to West Africa. This species has been introduced in the West Indies, where the ripe fruit is fried and eaten with fish (the unripe fruit is highly toxic). Several tropical fruits, such as the litchi, are members of the soapberry family. The representative genus contains about 13 species; 2 occur in the United States, and the fruits of both are poisonous.

Flowers of the order to which the soapberry family belongs are characteristically functionally unisexual, small, and insect pollinated. The order contains about 5400 species placed in 15 families; the two largest are the rue family, with about 1700 species, and the soapberry family, with about 1500 species.

Scientific classification: Soapberries make up the family Sapindaceae in the order Sapindales. The representative genus is Sapindus. Akee is classified as Blighia sapida and litchi as Litchi chinensis.

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