500 



AESCULACEAE. 



Vol. II. 



5. Aesculus Pavia L. Red or Little Buck- 

 eye. Fig. 2819. 



Aesculus Pavia L. Sp. PI. 344. 1753. 



A shrub, 4°-i2° high, rarely a small tree up to 

 18° high. Leaflets 5-7, stalked, oblong, lanceolate, 

 or obovate, 3'-s' long, I'-ii' wide, acute or short- 

 acuminate at the apex, all narrowed at the base, 

 finely serrate, nearly glabrous on both sides when 

 mature, shining; inflorescence loose; peduncles 1-3- 

 flowered; flowers bright red-purple, I'-iV long; 

 calyx tubular, its lobes short; petals 4, connivent, the 

 upper longer than the lower; stamens about equal- 

 ling the longer petals; fruit smooth; seeds dark 

 brown. 



In rich soil, Virginia to Florida, west to Kentucky, 

 Arkansas and Texas. Fish-poison. April-May. 



Aesculus austrina Small, Southern Buckeye, a simi- 

 lar shrub or small tree, has leaves tomentose beneath, 

 and yellow-brown seeds ; it inhabits the South-central 

 States, ranging north to Missouri. 



Family 81. SAPINDACEAE R. Br. Exp. Congo, App. 1818. 

 Soapberry Family. 



Trees or shrubs, with watery sap, rarely herbaceous vines. Leaves alternate 

 (opposite in one exotic genus), mostly pinnate or palmate, without stipules. 

 Flowers polygamo-clioecious, regular or slightly irregular. Sepals or calyx- 

 lobes 4-5, mostly imbricated. Petals 3-5. Disk fleshy. Stamens 5-10 (rarely 

 fewer or more), generally inserted on the disk. Ovary, i, 2-4-lobed or entire, 

 2-4-celled ; ovules i or more in each cavity. Fruit various. Seeds globose or 

 compressed; embryo mainly convolute; cotyledons often unequal; endosperm 

 none. 



About 125 genera, including over 1000 species, widely distributed in tropical and warm regions. 

 Trees or shrubs ; fruit a berry. i. Sapindus, 



Herbaceous vines ; fruit an inflated pod. 2. Cardiospermum. 



I. SAPINDUS [Tourn.] L. Sp. PI. 367. 1753. 



Trees or shrubs, with alternate mostly odd-pinnate leaves, and regular polygamo-dioecious 

 flowers in terminal or axillary racemes or panicles. Sepals 4-5, imbricated in 2 rows. Petals 

 of the same number, each with a scale at its base. Disk annular, hypogynous. Stamens 8-10, 

 inserted on the disk; anthers versatile. Ovary 2-4-lobed (commonly 3-lobed), with the same 

 number of cavities; ovules i in each cavity, ascending; style slender; stigma 2-4-lobed. Fruit 

 a globose or lobed berry with 1-3 seeds. [Name, Sapo Indicus, Indian soap, from the soapy 

 quality of the berries.] 



About 10 species, natives of warm and'tropical Asia and America, i'. Saponaria L., the generic 

 type, occurs in Florida. 



I. Sapindus Drummondii H. & A. Drum- 

 mond's Soapberry. Wild China-tree. 

 Indian Soap-plant. Fig. 2820. 



5'. Drummondii H. & A. Bot. Beechey's Voy. 281. :84i. 

 Sapindus acuminatus Raf. New Flora N. A. 3: 22. 1836. 



A tree, with maximum height of about 50° and trunk 

 diameter of 2°, the bark fissured when old. Leaves 

 pinnate, glabrous above, sparingly pubescent beneath, 

 5'-i8' long; leaflets 7-19, inequilateral, obliquely lanceo- 

 late, often falcate, entire, ii'-4' long, acuminate at the 

 apex and commonly acute at the base ; rachis not winged ; 

 panicles terminal, 5'-8' long, dense ; ilowers white, about 

 2" broad; petals ovate; berry globose or oval, 4"-7" 

 in diameter, very saponaceous, usually i-seeded and 

 with 2 abortive ovules at its base. 



River valleys and hillsides, Missouri to Louisiana, Kansas. 

 Texas,^ Arizona and northern Mexico. Wood hard, light 

 yellowish brown ; weight per cubic foot 59 lbs ; used in 

 Texas for cotton baskets. Berries used as a substitute for 

 soap. Included, in our first edition, in the description of 

 Sapindus marginaius Willd., of the Southeastern States, 

 which differs in ha-ing lanceolate petals. May-June. 



