Profile
Scientific name:	Sapindus mukorossi (Gaertn.)
Common name:	Fat bead, Soap tree

Features:	The Soap tree is a deciduous tree whose leaves turn yellow in the autumn and winter. When the tree's fruit is ripe, its skin is rich in saponin, a strong detergent that has been used since ancient times for cleaning utensils and washing hair. The Soap tree's leaflets are grouped together in 5-8 pairs apiece and slowly change color from light green to yellow in the autumn and winter, which is why the tree is also famous for being an ornamental tree. The tree's compound, lanceolate leaves are pinnately even, grow in an alternating pattern, have crooked bases, are roughly 9-12cm long, and have smooth margins. Soap trees also have compound raceme, and their globose drupes-which turn tawny and wrinkly when ripe-have swollen bases and black seeds.
Habitat:	Soap trees are deciduous trees widely spread throughout broad-leaved forests at low altitudes.
Low-Altitude Areas>Flora>Soap Tree