Sapindaceae 

Plants of this family have a variety of habits, from trees to herbaceous plants to lianas. The leaves of the tropical genera are usually spirally alternate, while those of the temperate maples (Acer), Aesculus, and a few other genera are opposite. They are most often pinnately compound,{{cite journal |last1=Buerki |first1=Sven |last2=Callmander |first2=Martin W. |last3=Acevedo-Rodriguez |first3=Pedro |last4=LowryII |first4=Porter P. |last5=Munzinger |first5=Jérôme |last6=Bailey |first6=Paul |last7=Maurin |first7=Olivier |last8=Brewer |first8=Grace E. |last9=Epitawalage |first9=Niroshini |last10=Baker |first10=William J. |last11=Forest |first11=Félix |title=An Updated Infra-Familial Classification of Sapindaceae Based on Targeted Enrichment Data (2021) |journal=American Journal of Botany |volume=108 |url=https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1682&context=bio_facpubs |access-date=5 June 2023}} but are palmately compound in Aesculus, and simply palmate in Acer. The petiole has a swollen base and lacks stipules. Some genera and species have laurel forest foliage due to convergent evolution.{{citation needed|date=July 2018}}

File:Dodonaea viscosa (Hopbush) W2 IMG 1899.jpg flowers]]

The flowers are small and unisexual, or functionally unisexual, though plants may be either dioecious or monoecious. They are usually found in cymes grouped in panicles. They most often have four or five petals and sepals (petals are absent in Dodonaea). The stamens range from four to 10, usually on a nectar disc between the petals and stamens, their filaments are often hairy. The most frequent number is eight, in two rings of four. The gynoecium contains two or three carpels, sometimes up to six. The usually single style has a lobed stigma. Most often they are pollinated by birds or insects, with a few species pollinated by wind.

Ripe fruits may be fleshy or dry. They may be nuts, berries, drupes, schizocarps, capsules (Bridgesia), or samaras (Acer). The embryos are bent or coiled, without endosperm in the seed, and frequently with an aril.

Image:Rambutan Nephelium lappaceum Whaldener Endo.jpg

The Sapindaceae are related to the Rutaceae, and both are usually placed in an order Sapindales or Rutales, depending on whether they are kept separate and which name is used for the order. The most basal member appears to be Xanthoceras.{{citation needed|date=July 2018}} Some authors formerly maintained some or all of Hippocastanaceae and Aceraceae, however this resulted in paraphyly. The former Ptaeroxylaceae, now placed in Rutaceae, were sometimes placed in Sapindaceae.{{cite web|author1=Watson, L. |author2=Dallwitz, M.J. |name-list-style=amp | year=2007| title=Sapindaceae Juss.|work=The families of flowering plants: descriptions, illustrations, identification, and information retrieval |url= http://delta-intkey.com/angio/www/sapindac.htm |access-date=2007-08-27}} The family is divided into four subfamilies, Dodonaeoideae (about 38 genera), Sapindoideae (about 114 genera), Hippocastanoideae (5 genera) and Xanthoceroideae (1 genus). The largest genera are Serjania (about 220 species), Paullinia (about 180 species), and Allophylus (about 200 species) in the tropical Sapindoideae and Acer (about 110 species) in the temperate Hippocastanoideae.{{cite book |author=V.H. Heywood |author2=R.K. Brummit |author3=A. Culham |author4=O. Seberg |date=2007 |publisher=Firefly Books Ltd. |title=Flowering plant families of the world |isbn=978-1-55407-206-4 }}{{rp|294}}

The largely temperate genera formerly separated in the families Aceraceae (Acer, Dipteronia) and Hippocastanaceae (Aesculus, Billia, Handeliodendron) were included within a more broadly circumscribed Sapindaceae by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group.{{citation |last=Stevens |first=P.F. |author-link=Peter F. Stevens|date=2015|orig-date=1st. Pub. 2001 |title=Angiosperm Phylogeny Website |url=http://www.mobot.org/mobot/research/apweb/|access-date=28 January 2021}} Recent research has confirmed the inclusion of these genera in the Sapindaceae.{{cite book |last=Singh |first=Gurjaran |title=Plant Systematics: An Integrated Approach |year=2004 |publisher=Science Publishers |location=Enfield, New Hampshire |isbn=1-57808-342-7| pages=438–440}}{{cite journal |last=Harrington |first=Mark G. |author2=Karen J. Edwards |author3=Sheila A. Johnson |author4=Mark W. Chase |author5=Paul A. Gadek |year=2005 |title=Phylogenetic inference in Sapindaceae sensu lato using plastid matK and rbcL DNA sequences |journal=Syst Bot |volume=30 |issue=2 |pages=366–382 |doi=10.1600/0363644054223549|bibcode=2005SysBo..30..366H |s2cid=85868684 }}

{{See also|List of Sapindaceae genera}}

The Sapindaceae include many species of economically valuable tropical fruit, including the lychee, longan, pitomba, guinip/mamoncillo, korlan, rambutan, pulasan, and ackee. Other products include guaraná, soapberries, and maple syrup.

Some species of maple and buckeye are valued for their wood, while several other genera, such as Koelreuteria, Cardiospermum, and Ungnadia, are popular ornamentals. Schleichera trijuga is the source of Indian macassar oil. Saponins extracted from the drupe of Sapindus species are effective surfactants and are used commercially in cosmetics and detergents.{{cite journal |url=http://www.personalcaremagazine.com/Story.aspx?Story=4325 |title=Soap Nut Saponins Create Powerful Natural Surfactant |first=Karin |last=Stoffels |date=September 2008 |journal=Personal Care Magazine |publisher=Jeen International Corporation|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615095522/http://www.personalcaremagazine.com/Story.aspx?Story=4325 |archive-date=2011-06-15 }}

File:Ackee 001.jpg|Ackee (Blighia sapida) fruit

File:Melicoccus bijugatus (Sapindaceae).jpg|Guinep/ Mamoncillo (Melicoccus bijugatus) fruit

File:Lychee fruit.jpg|Lychee (Litchi chinensis) fruit

File:Dimocarpus longan males F 070203 035 ime ed.jpg|Alupag (Dimocarpus didyma) fruits

File:Essa fruta se divide em tres como o guaraná.jpg|Guaraná (Paullinia cupana) fruit

File:Syrup grades large.JPG|Maple syrup (Acer saccharum)

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.botanical-dermatology-database.info/BotDermFolder/SAPI.html Sapindaceae] in [http://www.botanical-dermatology-database.info/index.html BoDD – Botanical Dermatology Database]
• [https://nt.ars-grin.gov/SeedsFruits/rptSeedsFruitsFamData.cfm?thisFamily=Sapindaceae USDA Agricultural Research Service: Fruits and seeds of Sapindaceae.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180715235843/https://nt.ars-grin.gov/SeedsFruits/rptSeedsFruitsFamData.cfm?thisFamily=Sapindaceae |date=2018-07-15 }} Retrieved 16 July 2018.

{{Angiosperm families}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q27147}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Sapindales families

Category:Saponaceous plants