Sapindus trifolius L. (SAPINDACEAE)
Common names
Kannada: Antavaala, Nore kaayi.
Malayalam: Pasakotta.
Tamil: Manippungu, Puchikottai
Description: Trees, up to 10 m tall. Leaves alternate, paripinnate; leaflets subopposite, 2-4 pairs, lanceolate or elliptic-lanceolate, up to 17.5 x 10 cm, acute or rounded at base, acuminate at apex. Flowers polygamous, in terminal rusty-pubescent panicles, white. Sepals 5 in 2 series, pubescent without. The petals, numbering 5, have short claws and are adorned with 2 scales at the base, exhibiting white-villous characteristics on both sides. The disc has a hirsute margin, and there are 8 stamens. The fruit is a schizocarp consisting of 1-3 indehiscent cocci, approximately 1.5 x 1.2 cm in size, densely villous in their youth. The seeds are black.
Flowering & Fruiting : September – March.
Distribution: India: In deciduous, semi-evergreen and evergreen forests. Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Pakistan, Sri Lanka.
Uses: Fruits are used as a substitute for soap, especially for washing clothes. Root-bark and fruit given internally as emetic, tonic, anthelmintic, alexipharmic, purgative, nauseant and as errhine, used in epilepsy, asthma, hysteria and hemicrania; fruit is used in leprosy, pruritus, boils and as abortifacient.