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Quillaja saponaria

Common name:	Soap-Bark Tree	Family:	Rosaceae
Author:	Molina.	Botanical references:	200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	The plant is toxic if taken internally, tending to dissolve the blood corpuscles[171]. The bark, and possibly other parts of the plant, contains saponins[4]. Although toxic, saponins are very poorly absorbed by the body and so tend to pass through without causing harm, they are also destroyed by thorough cooking. Saponins are found in many plants, including several that are often used for food, such as certain beans. It is advisable not to eat large quantities of food that contain saponins. Saponins are much more toxic to some creatures, such as fish, and hunting tribes have traditionally put large quantities of them in streams, lakes etc in order to stupefy or kill the fish[K].
Range:	S. America - Chile, Peru.
Habitat:	Mountainous regions on the western slopes of the Andes[169, 171].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	3

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Quillaria saponaria[H]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Kilaya [E], Quillaja [E], Soap Tree [H], Soapbark [P], Soapbark Tree [E],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	saponaria = soapy;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Rosales. Rose family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	La; Turkey

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen tree growing to 18m by 6m at a slow rate. It is hardy to zone 10 and is frost tender. It is in leaf all year, in flower from April to May. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 3/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Secondary, Sunny Edge, By Walls, By South Wall, By West Wall.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Expectorant; Skin; Stimulant.

Soap bark tree has a long history of medicinal use with the Andean people who used it especially as a treatment for various chest problems[254]. The saponin content of the bark helps to stimulate the production of a more fluid mucous in the airways, thus facilitating the removal of phlegm through coughing[254]. The tree is useful for treating any condition featuring congested catarrh within the chest, but it should not be used for dry irritable coughs[254].
The inner bark contains about 9% of complex saponins, known collectively as 'quillajasaponin'[238]. It also contains calcium oxalate and tannin[238]. It has been used internally as a stimulating expectorant, though it can cause irritation and inflammation of the digestive tract and so is no longer considered safe[4, 238]. The internal use of this plant needs to be carefully overseen by a professional practitioner[254]. Sap bark tree is used as a source of compounds for the pharmaceutical industry[238]. It is still used externally as a cutaneous stimulant in the treatment of skin ulcers and eruptions, dandruff etc[171, 238].

We have a more details factsheet on the history and medicinal use of this plant. Email webmaster@pfaf.org for details.

Other Uses

Hair; Soap.

The fresh or dried inner bark is a soap substitute[4, 169, 171]. It contains about 9% saponins and is a very gentle and effective cleaner[169, 171]. It is used for cleaning textiles and the skin[1, 46, 169, 171]. It can also be used as a hair tonic[169, 171]. The saponins are also used in anti-dandruff shampoos and exfoliant cleansers[238]. They are used as a foaming agent in fire extinguishers[238].
The bark also contains considerable quantities of carbonate of lime[1].

Cultivation details

Requires a well-drained fertile soil in a sunny position[200].
Plants are hardy to about -12°c in their natural range in South America[166] but they usually require greenhouse protection in Britain[1]. They can succeed outdoors in the milder areas of this country, often as small shrubs but making a tree in the very mildest areas[166]. The young growth in spring can be damaged by late frosts, so it is best to site the plant in a position sheltered from the early morning sun.
This species is cultivated for the saponins in its bark in some warm temperate areas of the world[238].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant out in early summer and give some protection from the cold for at least their first winter outdoors.
Cuttings of fully ripe wood of the current year's growth, November in a frame[238].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[S] Illustration from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Quillaja saponaria (a possible synonym).

[R] Rainforest medicinal Data (common names, medicinal uses, images) from the Rain-Tree.

References for Quillaria saponaria (a possible synonym).

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[166] Taylor. J. The Milder Garden. Dent 1990
A good book on plants that you didn't know could be grown outdoors in Britain.

[169] Buchanan. R. A Weavers Garden.
Covers all aspects of growing your own clothes, from fibre plants to dyes.

[171] Hill. A. F. Economic Botany. The Maple Press 1952
Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some a bit of detail about the plants it does cover.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[254] Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.

Readers Comments

Quillaja saponaria

Maurice Jaccard (spiruline@flamant-vert.ch) Mon Nov 18 17:47:56 2002

We are import-export company in geneva switzerland, ans we client interested into pannama wood for cosmetic purpose, are manufacturer, could quote for us price for 1 tonne of Kilaya Thanks Maurice Jaccard for TEVA LTD Geneva

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Bibliography

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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