Soapberry               sa-PIN-dus drum-MON-dee-i

• Deciduous small tree to 40-50 ft (12-15 m) tall, branches at first pubescent.  Leaves alternate, pinnately compound, 25-35 cm long, 8-18 leaflets, even number, each 4-8 cm long, base asymmetrical (one side rounded the other wedge-shaped), apex acuminate, glabrous above, pubescent below.  Flowers yellow-white, 5 mm wide, in open, terminal clusters, 15-25 cm long.  Fruit to 1.5 cm, yellow, ripening to black.
• Sun.  Soil adaptable, native to infertile, dry soils; drought tolerant.
• Hardy to USDA Zone (5) 6      Native range from southern Missouri, Kansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, west to New Mexico, Arizona, to northern Mexico.