Mnele, Ae, or SoapberrySapindaceae (Soapberry family)Indigenous to the Hawaiian Islands (Huallai, Mauna Loa and Klauea, Hawaii Island only)Oahu (Cultivated)Dozens of volunteer saplings (seedlings) coming up through the thick mnele leaf debris. Mnele is very easy to grow from seed.Apparently the pulp of the fruit was used by early Hawaiians as a soap for shampooing hair and washing clothes in the past.EtymologyThe generic name Sapindus is derived from Latin sapo, or soap, and indicus, Indian.The speicific epithet saponaria, similar to the generic name, is from the Latin saponis, or soap-like, referring to the saponin or soapy substance that comes from the fleshy seeds.NPH00009nativeplants.hawaii.edu/plant/view/Sapindus_saponaria
The Domain, Sydney (adjoining Botanic Gardens).Genus Alectryon includes some tall rainforest trees but some species have extended into much more exposed habitats, such as this one which occurs in seashore scrubs in northern NSW. Others occur widely in the semi-arid interior, most of them in the northern half of Australia. Pinnate leaves are the ancestral state in this genus, but the species from exposed habitats show a strong tendency to unifoliolate leaves in the adult state.Fruits are loculicidal capsules with 3 compartments each potentially containing a single seed, but often only 1 or 2 seeds develop. The seeds are black and shiny, each partly enclosed by an edible red aril, which is an outgrowth of the seed stalk. Arils are eaten by birds and possibly other fauna which thereby disperse the less edible seeds.
This odd tree may be found from Costa Rica to northern Colombia, here at Barro Colorado Island, Panama. Those giant thorns may have been developed to ward off the prehistoric megafauna. Rutaceae Family.