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Sapindus saponaria

Akeake (MK)

Sapindus

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Image:	Fruit and leaves	55KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Sapindus

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Akeake (MK)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Americas - Cooks - French Polynesia - Hawai‘i

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; Land, lowlands

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Material (Wood)

KEY FEATURES: Tree with pale bark. LF cpd, 30cm long, petiole 6cm, 4-7 LFTS, paired (very variable), rachis winged. LFTS sessile, papery, glabrous (top & bottom), entire, elliptic, base tapering, acuminate, sharp tip, to 16x6cm.

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present Makatea: Present
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
-	+	-	++L	-	-	-	-	-

Northern Group: -
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
-	-	-	-	-	-

Key to Symbols

blank	no data
-	absent	L	localised
X	extinct 'naturally'	W	widespread
XQi	quarantine intercepted	R	recent
XQe	eradicated	?	query preceding category
P	present	T?	taxonomic query
S	seasonal	nn	present, said to have no name
O	occasional	?1	present, name not investigated
++++	very common	?2	presence not verified, no name recorded
+++	common	N/A	absent, name not expected
++	uncommon
+	rare
Cook Islands islands: RR =Rarotonga, MG = Mangaia, AT =‘Ātiu, MK=Ma‘uke, MT=Miti‘āro, AK=Aitutaki, PL=Palmerston, PN=Penrhyn, MN=Manuae, TK=Takūtea, TN=Tongareva (TS=Tongaleva Spoken, TW=Tongareva Written, they say "el" but write "r"), MH=Manihiki, RK=Rakahanga, PK=Pukapuka, NS=Nassau, SW=Suwarrow. After a Polynesian name: ^=orthography query. Countries and other: FIJ=Fiji, WT=Wallis & Futuna, SAM=Samoa, TON=Tonga, NIU=Niue, CK=Cook Islands, CKM=Cook Islands Māori, FP=French Polynesia, AUS=Australs, SOC=Societies, TAH=Tahiti, TUA=Tuamotus, MQS=Marquesas, MNG=Mangareva, PIT=Pitcain group, EAS=Easter Island, HAW=Hawai‘i, NZ=New Zealand, NZM=New Zealand Māori

Scientific Taxonomy

Sapindus saponaria Linnaeus
SYNONYMS: Sapindus saponaria var. jardiniana

TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); MAGNOLIOPSIDA (=Dicotyledones); ROSIDAE; Sapindales; SAPINDACEAE

More Information

GENERAL NOTE: Known on Ma‘uke only. On Ma‘uke used for timber and tool handles (AW90). A feature of this family is that their fruit contain a lathering agent (a saponin) which lathers in water and can be used as a soap.

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
None Recorded.

References:
p.1229 Wagner et al.- Flowering Plants of Hawaii
p.533 Neal - In Gardens of Hawaii
p.355a Whistler - Ethnobotany of the Cook Islands

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM04b, zD02

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org.
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