赤才 chi cai

Sapindus rubiginosus Roxburgh, Pl. Coromandel 1: 44. 1795 ["rubiginosa"]; Erioglossum rubiginosum (Roxburgh) Blume.

Shrubs or small trees, evergreen, usually 2-3 m tall, sometimes to 7 m tall. Bark dark brown, irregularly longitudinally fissured; young branches, inflorescences, and leaf axis densely ferruginous tomentose. Leaves with petiole 15-50 cm; leaflets 2-8 pairs; petiolules short, less than 5 mm, stout; blades abaxially becoming brown when dry, adaxially deep green, slightly shiny, first pair (near base) ovate, evidently smaller, gradually larger toward leaf apex, elliptic-ovate to narrowly elliptic, 3-20 cm, leathery, abaxially densely tomentose, adaxially hairy only on midvein and lateral veins, lateral veins ca. 10 pairs, tips not reaching margin, base broadly cuneate to rounded, margin entire, apex obtuse or rounded, rarely acute. Inflorescences compound racemose, only branched once, densely flowered on upper part of branches; bracts subulate. Flowers fragrant, ca. 5 mm in diam. Sepals suborbicular, 2-2.5 mm. Petals 4, obovate, ca. 5 mm. Filaments villous. Fertile schizocarps red, 1.2-1.4 cm × 5-7 mm. Fl. spring, fr. summer.

Sparse forests, thickets, very common. Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan; cultivated in Yunnan (Xishuangbanna) [India, Indochinese peninsula, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Guinea, Philippines; NW Australia].

This species is used medicinally and for timber.