SAP 



maple and other trees in the early spring, before the soil 

 has thawed and while it is yet too cold for the living 

 matter of the plant to show any great activity, is not 

 due to the bleeding pressure, but to the expansion of 

 the gases and liquids in the trunk and branches of the 

 tree due to the direct warming action of the sun's rays. 

 During the daytime the bubbles of air in the wood cells 

 become heated and expand, driving the sap from the 

 wood cells into the auger hole which has been bored into 

 the tree. At night the trunk of the tree cools slowly 

 and the flow ceases, to be begun again next day. 



The amount of bleeding exhibited by any plant may 

 be found if the stem is cut and bent over in such man- 

 ner that the end is thrust into a tumbler or small ves- 

 sel, which will serve to collect the escaping sap. 



The ordinary upward movement of sap takes place 

 through the most recently formed wood cells at a rate 

 that varies from a few inches to a yard an hour. The 

 force which lifts the sap is ultimately derived from the 

 sun. The cells in the leaf contain many substances 

 which attract water, and the sun shines on these cells, 

 evaporating some of the fluid; the loss is replaced from 

 the nearest cells below by osmotic attraction and the 

 pull thus exerted may serve to draw water from the 

 roots to the leaves even in the tallest trees, although it 

 is to be said that not all of the question of the ascent 

 of sap may be satisfactorily explained by the facts at 

 hand. See Physiology of Plants. D. T. MACDOUGAL. 



SAPlNDUS (Latin words meaning soap and Indian; 

 alluding to the use of the fruit in India). Sapindacew. 

 SOAPBERRY. A genus of about 12 species of trees, 

 shrubs or woody vines inhabiting the tropical regions 

 of the whole world. Wood yellow: Ivs. alternate, ex- 

 stipitate, abruptly pinnate: fls. white, small, in lateral 

 or terminal racemes or panicles; sepals 5, obtuse, rarely 

 petaloid; petals more or less pubescent and bearing 

 just above the short claw a villous or ciliated comb or 

 appendage; disk annular, usually crenate, bearing 8-10 

 stamens: seeds with long testa and no aril, black or 

 nearly so. 



The fruit has an alkaline principle known as saponin 

 which makes it iiseful for cleansing purposes. The 

 fruit was much used in eastern countries before the in- 

 troduction of soap and is still preferred for washing the 

 hair and cleansing delicate fabrics like silk. 



A. Lfts. 4-7. 



Saponaria, Linn. A small tree with rough grayish 

 bark: Ifts. oblong-lanceolate and acute to elliptic-ovate 

 and somewhat obtuse, opposite or alternate, entire, gla- 

 brous, veiny and lucid above, tomentulose beneath: 

 rachis usually winged: fr. lucid, 6-8 lines in diam. S. 

 Fla.,W. India and S. Amer. Cult, in S. Fla. and S. Calif. 



AA. Lfts. 7-18. 



marginatus, Willd. A tree reaching ultimately 60 ft. 

 in height: Ifts. 7-13, lance-oblong, acuminate, glabrous 

 above, paler beneath and somewhat pubescent on the 

 midnerve, 2-5 in. long, the upper nearly opposite, the 

 lower alternate; rachis wingless, narrowly margined or 

 marginless : fls. white, sometimes tinged with red in 

 pyramidal panicles ; petals ciliate and bearing near the 

 base a 2-lobed villous scale; filaments villous: fr. yel- 

 low, about 8 lines long. May, June. Kan. to Tex., Ariz, 

 and N. Mexico. B.B. 2:402. Cult, for ornament in S. 

 Fla. 



utilis, Trab. A species from S. China which is not 

 distinguishable from S. marginatus, Willd., by descrip- 

 tions. Lfts. 12-14, acute, glabrous: fr. glabrous, nearly 

 globose, strongly keeled. R.H. 1895, p. 304. According 

 to Franceschi this tree is cult, n Algeria, where it comes 

 into bearing in 8-10 years. "The berries contain 38 per 

 cent of saponin. Trees have been known to yield $10 to 

 $20 worth of berries every year. The trees prefer dry, 

 rocky soil." F . W- BARCLAY. 



SAPIUM (old Latin name used by Pliny for a resin- 

 iferous pine). Euphorbiacece. About 25 species of 

 milky-juiced tropical trees or shrubs. Lvs. opposite, 

 petioled; petioles and scale-like bracts biglandular: 

 fls. in terminal spikes, the pistillate single below, the 

 staminate in 3's above, all apetalous; sepals imbricated, 



SAPONARIA 



1613 



unitedbelow; stamens2-3; filaments free: capsule with 

 J-3 1-seeded loeules, more or less fleshy, a 3-wineed cen- 

 tral column remaining after debiscence. 



sebiferum, Roxb. (Ks,;,, -Aria seblfera, Muell. stil- 

 llngia seblfera, Michx.). TALLOW TUB. Lv> 1-" in 

 long, ovate, acuminate, long-petioled, glabrous: cap- 

 sules % in. in diameter; seeds covered with a waxy coat- 

 ing which is used in the native land, east,. rn \sia for 

 making candles. Now cultivated in many warm regions 

 Naturalized in southern United States. 



J. B. S. NORTON. 



SAPODILLA, or NA8EBERRY is a common name of 

 Achras Sapbta, Linn, i Suy/o/u Achrax, Mill.), a tree of 

 the West Indies, Central America and northern South 

 America, cultivated as far north as Lake Worth Fla 

 for its fruits. Fig. 2249. It is one of the Sapotacece. it 



2249. Sapodilla. the fruit of Achras Sapota (X %). 



is an evergreen tree, the thick, lance-oblong, entire, 

 shining Ivs. clustered at the ends of the branches. The 

 fls. are borne on the rusty-pubescent growths of the 

 season; they are small and perfect; calyx with 6 lobes 

 in 2 series; corolla 6-lobed, whitish, scarcely exceeding- 

 the rusty calyx; stamens 6. Fruit size and color of a 

 small russet apple, very firm, with 10-12 compartments 

 containing large black seeds, the juice milky, flavor 

 sweet and pear-like. The fruit is much prized in warm 

 countries. From the juice, large quantities of chewing 

 gum are made. As ordinarily seen in the South and in 

 the West Indies, it is a bushy tree 10-20 ft. high, mak- 

 ing a handsome subject. It is said to bear well in pots. 



L. H. B. 



SAPOXABIA (Latin for soap; the roots can be used 

 like soap for washing). Caryophyllacece. SOAPWORT. 

 A genus of about 25 species of annual or perennial 

 herbs, natives of Europe and Asia, allied to Silene and 

 Gypsophila. Calyx ovoid or oblong-tubular, 5-toothed, 

 obscurely nerved: petals 5, narrowly clawed, limb en- 

 tire or emarginate, scaly at the base or naked; stamens 

 10: ovary many-seeded : style 2, rarely 3: capsule ovoid 

 or oblong, rarely nearly globose. 



Saponarias are readily established in any soil and re- 

 quire but little care. S. ocymoides is an attractive 

 plant for the rockery or for edging. Propagated by 

 seed or division. 



A. Stem stout, erect. 



officinalis, Linn. BOUNCING BET. Fig. 2250. A per- 

 ennial: stems l%-2% ft. high, leafy, simple, clustered, 

 glabrous: Ivs. mostly oblong-lanceolate, 3-nerved: fls. 

 light pink (nearly white in shady situations), in com- 

 pact, corymbose, paniculate cymes; calyx glabrous, the 

 teeth triangularly acuminate; petal lobes obovate. en- 

 tire, notched at apex. July, Aug. Europe. Var. flore- 

 pleno is quite double-flowered. S. Caucdsica, Hort., is 

 said to be a deeper-colored double form. 



AA. Stem slender, decumbent. 

 B. Lvs. obtuse: plants annual. 



Calabrica, Guss. A low-growing annual, with pink 

 fls.: Ivs. oblong-spatulate, obtuse, about 1 -nerved: fls. 



