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Indian Soap Plant

The Sapindus Saponaria Var. Drummondii is commonly known as Cherioni, Cherrion, Chinaberry, Drummond Soapberry, Indian Soap Plant, Jaboncillo, Mexican Soapberry, Soap Berry, Soapberry, Western Soapberry, Wild China-tree, Wild Chinaberry, as well as Wild Chinatree

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Growing Regions

Western soapberry grows from southwestern Missouri to southeastern Colorado, southward to Arizona and eastward to Texas, Louisiana, and northern Mexico [21]. It is described as a Madro-Tertiary genus which was largely restricted to relatively moist riparian habitats as conditions became increasingly hot and dry during the late Pleistocene [36].

     

General Information

Several taxonomic treatments have been proposed for western soapberry. Some authorities consider western soapberry and wingleaf soapberry to be discrete species (Sapindus drummondii and S. saponaria, respectively) [21,23,41]. However, many others now regard these entities as varieties of a single species (Sapindus saponaria) [10,17,26,33]. Still other taxonomists recognize only a single, although highly variable, species (Sapindus saponaria L.) [13]. The currently preferred scientific name of western soapberry is Sapindus saponaria var. drummondii (Hook and Arn.) L. Benson [10,14,26]. Western soapberry is a member of the primarily tropical family Sapindaceae, which comprises nearly 1,000 species [31,34]. Western soapberry differs from the closely related wingleaf soapberry (Sapindus saponaria var. saponaria) in various morphological characteristics and in geographical distribution [17].

Western soapberry grows as a dominant or codominant in a number of
Southwestern riparian communities.  Common codominants include Arizona
black walnut (Juglans major), Mexican ash (Fraxinus berlandieriana),
cedar elm (Ulmus crassifolia), and pigeon-berry (Rivina humilis).  It is
listed as a dominant or indicator in the following community type (cts)
classifications:

Area                    Classification          Authority

AZ,NM                   riparian cts            Szaro and Patton 1986

Southwest               riparian cts            Szaro 1990a

Southwest               riparian cts            Szaro 1990b

TX: Santa Ana Nat'l.    general veg. cts        Vora 1990a
    Refuge

sw NM                   riparian cts            Medina 1986

Much of the information presented here is attributed to:
Tirmenstein, D. A. 1990. Sapindus saponaria var. drummondii. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available at USDA Forest Service.

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