Family Sapindaceae
Synonyms: Dodonaeaceae APNI*
Aceraceae APNI*
Description: Trees, shrubs and climbers, rarely herbaceous; dioecious, monoecious or sometimes polygamous, sometimes deciduous.
Leaves alternate, simple, biternate or pinnate with the rachis ending in a spur; sometimes dimorphic with juvenile leaves simple to 2-pinnate, or leaflets toothed; petiole and petiolules usually pulvinate; stipules absent.
Inflorescences terminal, axillary or ramiflorous, usually thyrsoid, racemose or paniculate or cymose, sometimes corymbose, umbel-like. Flowers small, mostly actinomorphic, unisexual or bisexual; usually pedicellate; bracts present. Sepals 4–10, usually fused, imbricate or valvate. Petals absent or 4–6, free, usually clawed, with 1 or 2 hairy scales inside towards base; scales crested or not, sometimes absent. Disc usually present. Stamens 5–74, usually 8, inserted within disc, free, reduced in females, sometimes sepaloid; anthers 2-locular, longitudinally dehiscent. Ovary superior, 1–8-locular, rudimentary in males, ovules 1 or 2 per loculus; style 1, entire or with 2- or 3-lobed stigma.
Fruit drupaceous or separating into cocci or more often capsular and then dehiscence loculicidal, septicidal or irregular or sometimes by valves breaking away from septa, sometimes a winged schizocarp, separating into two 1-seeded mericarps (samaras); seeds usually with an aril.
Distribution and occurrence: World: 150 gen., c. 2000 spp., chiefly trop. & subtrop. regions. Aust.: 30 gen., c. 190 spp. (c. 167 spp. endemic, 2 spp. naturalized), all States.
External links:
Angiosperm Phylogeny Website (Family: Sapindaceae, Order: Sapindales)
Wikipedia Many species are of economic value. Several contain saponin in bark, twigs, leaves and pericarp; the bark of Jagera pseudorhus contains large amounts and is used as a foaming agent and as a fish poison. Some yield valuable timber, the most widely used is Tulipwood (Harpullia pendula). Many produce edible fruit; the Lychee (Litchi chinensis Sonn.), in which the aril is eaten, is cultivated in tropical areas. The aril of the Native Tamarind (Diploglottis australis) and of other species of Diploglottis is used for making jams and drinks. Many species are cultivated for their showy fruit or reddish new growth, or grown as shade trees. Aceraceae is here included in Sapindaceae
Text by G.J. Harden
Taxon concept:
Taxa not yet included in identification key
Aesculus
| | Key to the genera | |
| 1 | Leaves either simple, biternate or 2-pinnate | 2 |
| Leaves pinnate with 2 or more leaflets | 6 |
| 2 | Leaves biternate; plants climbing by tendrils | Cardiospermum |
| Leaves either simple or 2-pinnate; plants not climbing
Back to 1 | 3 |
| 3 | Leaves simple | 4 |
| Leaves 2-pinnate. (Juvenile foliage)
Back to 2 | Jagera |
| 4 | Fruit a capsule with 2–6 wings or angles | Dodonaea |
| Fruit indehiscent, usually 2-lobed
Back to 3 | 5 |
| 5 | Leaves linear, entire; petiole more than 5 mm long | Atalaya |
| Leaves oblanceolate or cuneate, some sharply toothed, others entire; petiole less than 5 mm long
Back to 4 | Alectryon |
| 6 | Leaves usually imparipinnate; leaflets usually less than 15 mm long and less than 8 mm wide, rarely to 40 mm long; fruit 2–6-angled and usually prominently 2–4-winged, wings papery | Dodonaea |
| Leaves usually paripinnate; leaflets mostly more than 30 mm long and more than 8 mm wide; fruit either not as above or if winged then wings leathery or more or less woody
Back to 1 | 7 |
| 7 | Fruit either separating into samaras, or indehiscent and drupaceous, or a capsule and dehiscing irregularly | 8 |
| Fruit a capsule, loculicidally dehiscent
Back to 6 | 11 |
| 8 | Fruit separating into samaras | 9 |
| Fruit not separating into samaras
Back to 7 | 10 |
| 9 | Evergreen | Atalaya |
| Deciduous
Back to 8 | Acer |
| 10 | Fruit drupaceous, indehiscent, more than 15 mm long; seeds without an aril; leaflets mostly with numerous prominent domatia | Castanospora |
| Fruit not drupaceous, 1–3-lobed or furrowed and splitting irregularly, less than 15 mm long; seeds with a basal aril; domatia either absent or small or if conspicuous only 1–3 per leaflet
Back to 8 | Alectryon |
| 11 | Leaflets with toothed margins | 12 |
| Leaflets with entire margins
Back to 7 | 16 |
| 12 | Petiole and rachis winged | Harpullia |
| Petiole and rachis not winged
Back to 11 | 13 |
| 13 | Capsule bristly with irritant hairs; leaves and branchlets densely rusty-hairy; domatia absent | Jagera |
| Capsule not bristly, softly hairy or glabrous; leaves and branchlets either glabrous or sparsely hairy or if densely hairy then domatia present
Back to 12 | 14 |
| 14 | Leaflets soft, thin and irregularly toothed in upper half; secondary veins distinct but not prominently raised on lower surface | Lepiderema |
| Leaflets firm and leathery and usually regularly toothed to base; secondary veins prominent and raised on lower surface
Back to 13 | 15 |
| 15 | Leaves usually with 8 or more leaflets; capsules with more or less thickened, leathery valves, usually either wrinkled or hairy on the outside; aril cupular, covering seed to about halfway | Cupaniopsis |
| Leaves usually with 2–7 leaflets; fruit with thick woody valves, either wrinkled or hairy on outside; aril very small, basal
Back to 14 | Elattostachys |
| 16 | Fruit on a long stipe, obovoid to pyriform, not prominently lobed, 1-seeded; aril completely enclosing seed and with a basal spur | Mischocarpus |
| Fruit without a stipe, globose to obovoid and usually 2- or 3-seeded or divaricately 1–3-lobed and each lobe with 1 seed; aril either partly enclosing seed or without a spur
Back to 11 | 17 |
| 17 | Leaves with 2 leaflets | 18 |
| Most leaves with more than 2 leaflets, occasionally some leaves with only 2 leaflets
Back to 16 | 19 |
| 18 | Leaves without domatia; petiole flattened; fruit more or less globose, usually 3-seeded, aril basal, yellowish | Rhysotoechia |
| Leaves with 1–several prominent domatia; petiole not flattened; fruit divaricately lobed, seed solitary in fruit or in each divaricate lobe, aril more or less enclosing seed, red
Back to 17 | Arytera |
| 19 | Domatia absent | 20 |
| Domatia present
Back to 17 | 26 |
| 20 | Indumentum on new growth of stellate hairs; ovary 2-locular, laterally compressed | Harpullia |
| Indumentum if present of simple hairs; ovary 3-locular, rarely laterally compressed
Back to 19 | 21 |
| 21 | Lower surface of leaflets glaucous and finely hairy; arils tailed | Guioa |
| Lower surface of leaflets not glaucous, either glabrous or hairy; arils not tailed
Back to 20 | 22 |
| 22 | Apex of leaflets rounded and often retuse or shortly acute; leaflets more or less oblong to obovoid | 23 |
| Apex of leaflets acuminate; leaflets mostly elliptic, narrow-ovate to ovate
Back to 21 | 24 |
| 23 | Leaves glabrous, usually less than 25 cm long | Cupaniopsis |
| Leaves rusty-hairy, usually more than 30 cm long
Back to 22 | Diploglottis |
| 24 | Leaves with petiole, rachis and at least lower surface of leaflets softly hairy; widespread in rainforest north from the Bulga Plateau | Sarcopteryx |
| Leaves usually glabrous when mature (sometimes petioles sparsely hairy); rare, in rainforest in the Richmond and Tweed Valleys
Back to 22 | 25 |
| 25 | Most leaflets more than 6 cm long and more than 20 mm wide; scales present on petals; fruit more than 20 mm diam | Diploglottis |
| Most leaflets less than 6 cm long and less than 20 mm wide; scales absent from petals; fruit less than 20 mm diam
Back to 24 | Lepiderema |
| 26 | Fruit more or less globose to obovoid; arils yellowish, only enclosing base of seeds; leaflets either with 1–3 prominent domatia or with several small hairy domatia | Toechima |
| Fruit divaricately 1–3-lobed, each lobe transversely ellipsoid; arils red, completelty enclosing seeds; leaflets with several small glabrous domatia
Back to 19 | Arytera |
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