The Sapindus tree is a deciduous tall tree, more than 20 meters high, with yellow-brown bark and obvious lenticels on the twigs.

The Sapindus is a plant of the genus Sapindus in the family Sapindaceae, with the aliases: Mucuna pruriens (Materia Medica), Oil Sapindus (Sichuan), Bitter Sapindus (Hainan), Huangmei Tree, Meilang Tree (Taiwan, China), Fragrant Sapindus, Hand-washing Fruit, and the other local names: Rubbing Meilang Zi, False Longan, and so on.

Deciduous tree, branches spreading, leaves alternate; no stipules; stalked; panicles, terminal and lateral; flowers polygamous, corolla light green, shortly clawed; disk cupular; filaments finely hairy, dorsal insertion of the medicine, bisexual flowers with small stamens, filaments with soft hairs. Drupe spherical, yellow or brownish-yellow when ripe.

The main uses of Sapindus

1, timber use: Sapindus, although it is a large tree, its timber material is soft and relatively brittle, the sapwood is yellowish-white, the heartwood is yellowish-brown, easy to process, and it can be made into boxes and boards, utensils and other uses.

2, Sapindus saprophyllus pericarp contains saponin, can be used instead of soap. According to the study of Sapindus indica pericarp extract has a strong surface activity, decontamination ability, and Sapindus indica saponin is easily degraded, there is no harmful residue on the environment, so Sapindus indica in the development of biological detergents and natural cosmetics has the potential.