SAPINDACEAE - - Soapberry Family

Sapindus saponaria Linnaeus var. drummondii (Hooker & Arnott) L.D. Benson — Western Soapberry

Habitat:

In the western part of its range it is most often found growing at the head of prairie ravines, the margins of woodlands, the edges of fields or on rocky hillsides.

Habitat information from:
Weakley, Alan S., Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States, Working Draft of 21 May 2015.

Note on taxonomy and how it affects the two range maps below!

Weakley (2015) and most Florida botanists are now recognizing S. marginatus as a separate taxon from either S. saponaria var. saponaria or S. saponaria var. drummondii. And, at the time these maps were published, neither BONAP or UGA Herbarium recognized S. marginatus. Therefore, probably, the Florida, coastal Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and possibly some other coastal collections are S. marginatus and the only Georgia collection (naturalized) of S. saponaria var. drummondii is from Floyd County (not showing on BONAP yet).

The range of Sapindus saponaria (Western Soapberry)

Kartesz, J.T., The Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2015. North American Plant Atlas. (http://bonap.net/napa). Chapel Hill, N.C. [maps generated from Kartesz, J.T. 2015. Floristic Synthesis of North America, Version 1.0. Biota of North America Program (BONAP). (in press)].

The Georgia range of Sapindus saponaria (Western Soapberry)

Zomlefer, W.B., J.R. Carter, & D.E. Giannasi. 2014 (and ongoing). The Atlas of Georgia Plants. University of Georgia Herbarium (Athens, Georgia) and Valdosta State University Herbarium (Valdosta, Georgia). Available at: http://www.georgiaherbaria.org/.