There is one soapberry (Sapindus drummondii) in the arboretum collection. You can find it at the northern edge of the arboretum, towards the Hargrove band shell.
Without the aid of a ladder, all of the soapberry branches are out of reach, and it's necessary to crane one's neck in order to appreciate the leaves. So, passersby primarily see this: gray, flaking, bumpy bark of the trunk.
If you want to see soapberry flowers, now is the time. They most likely won't call your attention; you will need to go looking for them, as they are up above and hidden among the compound leaves.
The tiny white flowers are numerous and are clustered together on panicles. This photo was taken with the aid of a ladder. Perhaps you know of a soapberry tree whose flowers can be found near the ground?
A twig was snipped for further inspection.
Compound leaves alternate along the twig.
These leaves all measured under a foot; however, it's easy to imagine a soapberry leaf stretching out a couple more inches.
At first glance, leaflets appear to be opposite from one another, but looking closer we see that the leaflets irregularly alternate.
Leaflets are dark green and vary in size. They have an asymmetrical shape, and edges are smooth.
This particular panicle of soapberry flowers measured nine inches long. No fragrance was noticeable.
Only
one soapberry was ever collected for the arboretum catalogue, and this
is it. You can read more about it here. It has been successful and easy to maintain, suggesting that we
ought to consider adding another soapberry to the landscape. Since
this particular soapberry was purchased from South Carolina, it would be
beneficial to collect an individual from northwest Louisiana.
There is one soapberry tree (Sapindus drummondii) in the arboretum, and it has been a major attraction this week. A small flock of cedar waxwings gathered on the limbs of the tree. They inspected and pecked at the yellow fruits. The birds were likely eating some of the fruits, but they also knocked many loose, causing them to land among the leaf litter.
The soapberry is the tall, skinny tree pictured center, to the left of the arboretum sign. It was purchased from Woodlanders Nursery (Aiken, South Carolina) in the fall of 1990, and planted in October of the same season, making the tree approximately 30 years of age.
Towards the beginning of the fall semester, the soapberry was conscripted into an art project. Thin white string ties the soapberry to the nutmeg hickory (Carya myristiciformis).
The soapberry and nutmeg hickory were purchased from the same nursery and planted at the same time. They grew up together. The artwork seems to be an above ground representation of the intertwining that is surely occurring below ground.
The white string draws out the greyness in the flaky outer bark.
The string has worn on the flaky grey outer bark, revealing the rust-colored inner bark.
A small flock of cedar waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum) brought our attention to the soapberry tree. This is a short clip, showing the cedar waxwings in action.
The birds were interested in pecking at the yellow drupes, and they possibly consumed a few.
Once the camera started rolling, the cedar waxwings were quick to take flight, leaving plenty of fruits dangling from the twigs. These drupes are far out of our reach.
Luckily, the cedar waxwings, and other birds, have knocked the fruits loose for our own inspection. The yellow soapberry fruits aren't hard to find in the leaf litter.
The squishy globular fruits are half an inch in diameter.
A purplish-black seed is concealed by the yellow casing. Getting to the seed is a sticky business.
You can find additional (leafy) photos of the arboretum's soapberry tree here.
