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Soapberry family🍁
Sapindaceae
ムクロジ科
A large family that merged Aceraceae and Hippocastanaceae under the APG system. Includes maples, horse chestnuts, and soapberries. A key evolutionary innovation is the propeller-shaped samara for wind dispersal. Approximately 2,000 species, widely distributed from temperate to tropical regions.
Key Characteristics
- ●Mostly opposite compound or palmately lobed leaves
- ●Samaras (propeller-shaped winged fruits) for wind dispersal (Acer)
- ●Many species display beautiful autumn foliage (red and yellow)
- ●Flowers small, nectariferous, insect-pollinated
Morphological Traits
A family may include species with different trait values — multiple values indicate the range within the family.
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf type
Compound / Simple
Venation
Pinnate
Leaf margin
Entire
Growth form
Shrub / Tree / Vine / Herb
Evergreen/Deciduous
Deciduous
Compound type
Ternate / Pinnate / Bipinnate
Leaf dissection
Dissected / Undivided
Stipules
Present / Absent
Latex
Present / Absent
Flower symmetry
Actinomorphic / Zygomorphic
Petal count
3 petals / Many
Petal fusion
Free / Fused
Ovary position
Superior
Stamen count
3-4 / 5
Plant sex
Dioecious / Monoecious
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Eudicots > Sapindales > Sapindaceae
Divergence Era
Late Cretaceous to Paleogene
Representative Genera
Related Evolution Events
- ・Acquisition of efficient wind dispersal via samaras
- ・Autumn leaf coloration (anthocyanin and carotenoid accumulation)