soap tree - Sapindus Mukorossis availability?

Discussion in 'Planting, growing, nurturing Plants' started by gardenlen, Oct 11, 2006.

  1. gardenlen

    gardenlen Group for banned users

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    ok friends no place like starting a search where you are at the time hey?

    has anyone heard of the soap tree aka 'Sapindus Mukorossis' from india/nepal area?

    would be interested to find out if they will grow here (my guess is yes)?

    how big they grow?

    and are seedling trees available in aus'?

    or

    where can the balls be purchased for use in the laundry?

    len
     
  2. hedwig

    hedwig Junior Member

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    does the soap tree produce soap??
    is it better than soapwort (which I never tried..)
    soory, just more questions!
     
  3. gardenlen

    gardenlen Group for banned users

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    hedwig,

    the soap is produced from the nuts in some way.

    i haven't asked how it works as yet, that'll be my next question.

    somneone on e-bay is selling a dry powdered form of detergent from these nuts.

    also some place in yankee land sells seeds but i heard they take 10 years to germinate or something like that.

    also called:

    chinese soapberry
    soap nut
    soap nut tree

    the lychee nut is of the same family apparently, and that's about as far as i have gotten so far to date.

    len
     
  4. pootle

    pootle Junior Member

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    hi guys
    from what i gether this has many different names depending on who/ where you are looking :?
    i have found the actual powder for sale onling in australia YAY!
    apparently you make a small pounch (cushion type thingy) & put the powder in - then add this to the wash
    the soap nut tree belongs to the group mentioned above, & lathers up when water is added
    here are some websites i found

    https://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/abstract.cg ... sid=6006l3

    https://www.naturalcollection.com/natura ... ID=4392656

    https://www.salteverest.com/reetha.html

    i hope this is some use for you all - i am not 100% sure thay this info is accirate so please use your own judgement :D

    sam
     
  5. FREE Permaculture

    FREE Permaculture Junior Member

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    pretty sure there are native trees that used to be used for soaps and to burn like candles aswell? there's one that you crush the leaves and rub to lather up but also nut type trees i think.
    might be easy to source and to grow instead?

    Have fun chasing them up though :)

    Ben
     
  6. pootle

    pootle Junior Member

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    i have sourced the nuts now & i am waiting for a reply on prices :D
    from the first lot i priced up - powder it works out at 20c per wash
    not bad eh!!!


    sam
     
  7. mamat

    mamat Junior Member

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    quick correction: does not take 10 years to germinate but nuts appear on 5-10 year old trees.

    what is used/sold for laundry is the nut shells because it contains lots of saponins. saponins are from what i understand present in many plants. i've read about them in guides of eatible plants ("not eatible due to saponins"). i believe it's used by plants to protect themselves from insects/animals. not sure if concentration is high enough in many plants for doing laundry though.

    here are a few links:
    https://raffa.over-blog.com/article-1024645.html in french but good content and links in english
    https://raffa.over-blog.com/article-1024541.html same comment
    https://forum.aceboard.net/24190-2116-17495-0-Culture-Sapindus-Mukorossi.htm forum thread of french people trying to grow them
    https://www.himalayahealthcare.com/herbfinder/h_sapindus.htm
    https://www.haryana-online.com/Flora/ritha.htm
     
  8. gardenlen

    gardenlen Group for banned users

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    thanks one and all for all the great help,

    i have lots of links now saved and perused.

    at this stage depending on space i would probably plant a native species first depending on effectiveness of the produc saught? and then go one step further and check to see if there is a more indemic native available.

    but i got lots of good answers here.

    a big thank you

    len
     
  9. Cornonthecob

    Cornonthecob Junior Member

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    Len, could you let me know hwich one you go with...I'd like to look into it myself at a later date.

    :)
     
  10. gardenlen

    gardenlen Group for banned users

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    will do c.o.c,

    i don't have a lot of space so i would probably have to plant it as a street tree culture, i think the soapwort is out if i was on acreage with a slope and errosion maybe?

    the native species is more appealing, would like to get indemic species if there is one? but for now i ahve the info saved for when i get serious, still got lots to do here yet.

    all the capitol extensions are all but completed app' 1/2 way through planting sundry citrus and other vines inc' grapes, and yet to creat another garden. currently days/weeks/months all meld into one lol.

    len
     
  11. Cornonthecob

    Cornonthecob Junior Member

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    Tis a story I know well Len!

    :)
     
  12. nangari

    nangari Junior Member

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    revival

    Hi all :D

    I'm reviving this thread after 12mths of it being dormant. It's relevant to me right now as I'm doing a search for plants with saponins. Did anyone have any luck growing the sapindus mukorossi yet? I would love to know where you are and what troubles/triumphs you've had with it. I'm about to purchase some seeds but thought I'd hear some stories first.

    Other than that, there is an acacia that grows in the Kimberley which has great saponin content but I'm yet to try using it on my laundry. Apparently there's a tree at the end of my street so I just need to go harvest some dry seed pods when they're ready and throw them in a bag in my washing machine and see what happens.

    Thanks for listening!
    Cas
     
  13. gardenlen

    gardenlen Group for banned users

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    g'day cas,

    didn't persist with this idea, had to put t into the too ahrd basket. wouldn't ahve the room for a tree on our land and then the time for the tree to mature came into play.

    but interested in this acacia you talk of might be could find space for one as a street tree?

    len
     
  14. nangari

    nangari Junior Member

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    soapy

    https://www.endemicplants.com/page2.htm Check out this page and particularly the Acacia holosericea (Mimosaceae). The dry brown seed pods are rubbed together in your hands to form a lather. I'm going to try them in my wash and see what happens. I've been using soap nuts and they've been working fine but yes, sounds a bit too hard at this stage to get the seeds and grow it. Although, I do know where to get them and I have a friend who's thumb is much greener than mine so I may have some luck. I'll let you know :D

    Cas
     
  15. Batz

    Batz Junior Member

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    Soapy Ash
    Native to S.E. Queensland

    Batz
     
  16. nangari

    nangari Junior Member

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    I think it's native to North West WA also :D There's heaps growing around here. I went and harvested some pods recently and the kids were using it to wash their hands but I'm yet to try it in the washing machine. I have to get a suitable bag to put it in!

    I have some Sapindus Mukurossi seeds on their way to me...will keep you posted.

    Cas
     
  17. Batz

    Batz Junior Member

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    Don't know of it over there,and I lived there for 25years :wink:
    Only made to move to Queensland 2 1/2 years back

    Batz
     
  18. The_Source

    The_Source Junior Member

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    How?

    nangari - Just wondering where you sourced the Soap Nut seeds from and how much success you had with growing them?
     
  19. nangari

    nangari Junior Member

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    Well, the seeds finally arrived a couple of weeks ago! Took a while lol. I have sent them on to my friend in Victoria who has a very green thumb (and we may be moving in the next couple of months). I'm not sure how much success she will have growing them though because I imagine that Victorian weather and soil is vastly different to the Indian conditions the seeds are normally grown in.

    Cas
     
  20. The_Source

    The_Source Junior Member

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    Re: soap tree - Sapindus Mukorossis availability?

    Any updates Cas?
     

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