* Map courtesy of WikiMedia.org, it is release under the Creative Commons License.

Sapindus Saponaria Var. Drummondii

The Sapindus Saponaria Var. Drummondii is commonly known as Cherioni, Cherrion, Chinaberry, Drummond Soapberry, Indian Soap Plant, Jaboncillo, Mexican Soapberry, Soap Berry, Soapberry, Western Soapberry, Wild China-tree, Wild Chinaberry, as well as Wild Chinatree

< Go Back

Growing Regions

Western soapberry grows from southwestern Missouri to southeastern Colorado, southward to Arizona and eastward to Texas, Louisiana, and northern Mexico [21]. It is described as a Madro-Tertiary genus which was largely restricted to relatively moist riparian habitats as conditions became increasingly hot and dry during the late Pleistocene [36].

     

General Information

Several taxonomic treatments have been proposed for western soapberry. Some authorities consider western soapberry and wingleaf soapberry to be discrete species (Sapindus drummondii and S. saponaria, respectively) [21,23,41]. However, many others now regard these entities as varieties of a single species (Sapindus saponaria) [10,17,26,33]. Still other taxonomists recognize only a single, although highly variable, species (Sapindus saponaria L.) [13]. The currently preferred scientific name of western soapberry is Sapindus saponaria var. drummondii (Hook and Arn.) L. Benson [10,14,26]. Western soapberry is a member of the primarily tropical family Sapindaceae, which comprises nearly 1,000 species [31,34]. Western soapberry differs from the closely related wingleaf soapberry (Sapindus saponaria var. saponaria) in various morphological characteristics and in geographical distribution [17].

Western soapberry grows as a dominant or codominant in a number of
Southwestern riparian communities.  Common codominants include Arizona
black walnut (Juglans major), Mexican ash (Fraxinus berlandieriana),
cedar elm (Ulmus crassifolia), and pigeon-berry (Rivina humilis).  It is
listed as a dominant or indicator in the following community type (cts)
classifications:

Area                    Classification          Authority

AZ,NM                   riparian cts            Szaro and Patton 1986

Southwest               riparian cts            Szaro 1990a

Southwest               riparian cts            Szaro 1990b

TX: Santa Ana Nat'l.    general veg. cts        Vora 1990a
    Refuge

sw NM                   riparian cts            Medina 1986

Much of the information presented here is attributed to:
Tirmenstein, D. A. 1990. Sapindus saponaria var. drummondii. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available at USDA Forest Service.

< Go Back