Soap bark tree facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Soap bark tree |
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Quillaja
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Q. saponaria
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| Quillaja saponaria |
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Soap bark tree (Quillaja saponaria) is a tree of the family Quillajaceae. In commerce, it is known as Panama wood. The tree grows naturally from warm temperate central Chile north to Bolivia and Peru. It can grow to 15 m (49 ft) to 20 m (66 ft) high. The Soap bark tree gets its name because the inner bark can be made into a powder which can be used as soap. Its compounds are also used as foam in beer and other drinks. The tree also has medicinal uses.
Morphology
Quillay is an evergreen tree, with grey bark. Alternate leaves, glaber, acute apex and obtuse base, bright green, near entire margins with 4-8 teeth. Flowers light green or white, hermaphrodite, pentamer, radiate. Five petals, 5 sepals, 10 stamens and 5 pistils. Fruit: a star-shape capsule, with winged seeds.
Images for kids
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Quillaja saponaria in bloom, University of California, Berkeley, USA, July 2019 (by Amber Kerr).
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Sclerophyll forests in the Santiago Metropolitan Region in Chile.
See also
In Spanish: Quillaja saponaria para niños
