Code
LUAGLGrowth form
shrubLife cycle
perennialHabitat
terrestrial
🗒 Synonyms
| synonym | Acacia frondosa Willd. |
| synonym | Acacia glauca (L.) Willd. |
| synonym | Acacia leucocephala (Lam.) Link |
| synonym | Acacia leucocephala (Lam.)Link |
| synonym | Leucaena glabra Benth. |
| synonym | Leucaena glauca (sensu L.1763)Benth. |
| synonym | Leucaena glauca (Willd.)Benth. |
| synonym | Leucaena glauca Benth. |
| synonym | Leucaena leucocephala subsp. leucocephala |
| synonym | Mimosa glauca sensu L.1763 |
| synonym | Mimosa glauca Sensu L.1763 |
| synonym | Mimosa leucocephala Lam. |
🗒 Common Names
| Creoles and pidgins; French-based |
|
| English |
|
| French |
|
| Other |
|
📚 Overview
Description
Global description
Leucaena leucocephala is a shrub of 3 to 10 m. Leaves alternate, compound, bipinnate, 15 to 25 cm long. Presence of 3 to 7 pairs of opposite pinnae, 4 to 8 cm long, composed of twelve pairs of linear-oblong leaflets ciliated with acute apex, 0.7 to 2 cm long and 2 to 5 mm wide. White flowers grouped in axillary glomerules, 2 to 3 cm in diameter carried by a peduncle of 2 to 5 cm long. Fruits are pods, flat, brown, long of 8-20 cm and 2 cm wide. The pods are in groups of 5 to 20. Each pod contains between 8 and 18 elliptical seeds, 8 mm long and 4 mm wide, orange brown in color.
Growth habit
Shrub or small tree measuring 60 cm to 10 m high.
Underground system
Like all legumes, roots have nodules of 2.5 to 15 mm diameter, multi-lobed, internal bright pink in color. They allow to fix annually to over 500 kg nitrogen per hectare, but only if the specific rhizobium associated with them is present in the soil. Individuals who do not nodulate are pale-green or yellow and unproductive.
Stem
The woody stem is cylindrical, full and smooth. The finest branches are covered with a loose hairy little gray hairs.
Leaf
The leaves are alternate and compound bipinnate, with 2-7 pairs of terminal divisions with 5-21 pairs of leaflets. Linear-oblong leaflets with very asymmetrical base, pointed end, measuring 7 to 20 mm long and 1.5 to 5 mm wide. They are obliquely arranged on their axis. Their margin is slightly ciliated. They are sometimes slightly pubescent on the midrib of the lower side.
Inflorescence
Hermaphrodite flowers, sessile, are grouped in axillary clusters, carried by a peduncle of 1 to 5 cm long.
Flower
The calyx, in flared tube, ends with five tines. Petals (4 to 5.5 mm long) are free, covered with small loose hairs, pale green in color. The 10 stamens with long filaments (6.5 to 7.5 mm long) end in anthers covered with a loose pubescence.
Fruit
The fruit is an elongated pod, 8 to 20 cm long and 1.4 to 2.1 cm wide, based narrowed in peduncle.
Seed
Seed, ellipsoid to ovoid, 7.5 to 9 mm long and 4 to 5 mm wide.
Leucaena leucocephala is a shrub of 3 to 10 m. Leaves alternate, compound, bipinnate, 15 to 25 cm long. Presence of 3 to 7 pairs of opposite pinnae, 4 to 8 cm long, composed of twelve pairs of linear-oblong leaflets ciliated with acute apex, 0.7 to 2 cm long and 2 to 5 mm wide. White flowers grouped in axillary glomerules, 2 to 3 cm in diameter carried by a peduncle of 2 to 5 cm long. Fruits are pods, flat, brown, long of 8-20 cm and 2 cm wide. The pods are in groups of 5 to 20. Each pod contains between 8 and 18 elliptical seeds, 8 mm long and 4 mm wide, orange brown in color.
Growth habit
Shrub or small tree measuring 60 cm to 10 m high.
Underground system
Like all legumes, roots have nodules of 2.5 to 15 mm diameter, multi-lobed, internal bright pink in color. They allow to fix annually to over 500 kg nitrogen per hectare, but only if the specific rhizobium associated with them is present in the soil. Individuals who do not nodulate are pale-green or yellow and unproductive.
Stem
The woody stem is cylindrical, full and smooth. The finest branches are covered with a loose hairy little gray hairs.
Leaf
The leaves are alternate and compound bipinnate, with 2-7 pairs of terminal divisions with 5-21 pairs of leaflets. Linear-oblong leaflets with very asymmetrical base, pointed end, measuring 7 to 20 mm long and 1.5 to 5 mm wide. They are obliquely arranged on their axis. Their margin is slightly ciliated. They are sometimes slightly pubescent on the midrib of the lower side.
Inflorescence
Hermaphrodite flowers, sessile, are grouped in axillary clusters, carried by a peduncle of 1 to 5 cm long.
Flower
The calyx, in flared tube, ends with five tines. Petals (4 to 5.5 mm long) are free, covered with small loose hairs, pale green in color. The 10 stamens with long filaments (6.5 to 7.5 mm long) end in anthers covered with a loose pubescence.
Fruit
The fruit is an elongated pod, 8 to 20 cm long and 1.4 to 2.1 cm wide, based narrowed in peduncle.
Seed
Seed, ellipsoid to ovoid, 7.5 to 9 mm long and 4 to 5 mm wide.
Wiktrop
| Attributions | Wiktrop |
| Contributors | |
| Status | UNDER_CREATION |
| Licenses | CC_BY_SA |
| References |
There is content in another language. Please click here to read it. (Français)
No Data
📚 Nomenclature and Classification
No Data
📚 Natural History
Life Cycle
Life cycle
Perenial
There is content in another language. Please click here to read it. (Français)
Mayotte: Leucaena leucocephala flowers and fruits all year round.
New Caledonia: Flowering of Leucaena leucocephala occurs in cool season and fruiting at the beginning of the dry season.
Wiktrop
| Attributions | Wiktrop |
| Contributors | |
| Status | UNDER_CREATION |
| Licenses | CC_BY |
| References |
Reproduction
Leucaena leucocephala is a perennial woody plant which reproduces by seeds. The latter are very light and disseminate by wind.
Wiktrop
| Attributions | Wiktrop |
| Contributors | |
| Status | UNDER_CREATION |
| Licenses | CC_BY_SA |
| References |
There is content in another language. Please click here to read it. (Français)
Morphology
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf type
Compound
Compound leaf type
Bipinnate
Latex
Without latex
Stem section
Round
Root type
Taproot
Hollow or solid stem
Solid stem
Stipule type
No stipule
Leaf attachment type
with petiole
Fruit type
Pod
Pod type
Compressed pod in section
Lamina base
asymmetric
Lamina margin
entire
Lamina apex
acute
Upperface pilosity
Glabrous
Lowerface pilosity
Glabrous
Lamina section
flat
Flower color
White
Inflorescence type
Pedonculate glomerule
Stem pilosity
Glabrous
Life form
Shrub
Look Alikes
Desmanthus virgatus and Leucaena leucocephala can easily be confused at the young stage. The seedling of Desmanthus virgatus is recognizable by its angular stem (turning it between the thumb and forefinger) and the large brown gland in the upper quarter of the petiole, while the Leucaena leucocephala stem is round and the petiole without gland.
Thomas Le Bourgeois, Marnotte Pascal
| Attributions | |
| Contributors | |
| Status | UNDER_CREATION |
| Licenses | CC_BY |
| References |
There is content in another language. Please click here to read it. (Français)
Ecology
There is content in another language. Please click here to read it. (Français)
Leucaena leucocephala is widespread in tropical lowlands in rainfall between 650 and 1000 mm. It does not tolerate cold temperature (below 22°C).
Mayotte: Leucaena leucocephala is an exotic species widely naturalized in a wide range of environments. In the xerophilous region, on the points and the islands, especially after bush-fire it can form very dense monospecific stands. It is also common in the degraded environments of the mesophilic and hygrophilic regions of the island.
West Indies: Leucaena leucocephala is an exotic species. It grows in abandoned environments and in cultivated environments in dry conditions.
dummy
| Attributions | dummy |
| Contributors | |
| Status | UNDER_CREATION |
| Licenses | CC_BY_SA |
| References |
No Data
📚 Habitat and Distribution
General Habitat
Habitat
Terrestrial
Description
Geographical distibution
Madagascar
Reunion Island
Comoros
Mauritius
Seychelles
There is content in another language. Please click here to read it. (Français)
Origine
Leucaena leucocephala is native to Central America.
Worldwide distribution
Leucaena leucocephala is a species highly widespread in all tropical lowlands with rainfall between 650 and 1000 mm. This species was introduced in the Comoros in the 1980s in a soil restoration goal.
Wiktrop
| Attributions | Wiktrop |
| Contributors | |
| Status | UNDER_CREATION |
| Licenses | CC_BY |
| References |
No Data
📚 Occurrence
No Data
📚 Demography and Conservation
Risk Statement
There is content in another language. Please click here to read it. (Français)
Global harmfulness
Leucaena leucocephala was introduced as forage in the middle of the 19th century in northern Australia, the South Pacific and New Caledonia.
Local harmfulness
Comoros: Introduced in the 1980s in a soil restoration goal, but quickly naturalized and becoming more or less invasive. It would be interesting to study the cost / benefit of the introduction of this species in the Comoros.
Mayotte: Leucaena leucocephala is an infrequent weed (1% of cultivated plots) that is mainly found in forage crops.
New Caledonia: Leucaena leucocephala now covers large areas especially on the West Coast as dense monospecific thickets.
South Africa: Leucaena leucocephala competes with native species and is likely to replace them. Dense stands along watercourses are likely to reduce their flow. The pods are toxic (in quantity) to domestic livestock.
West Indies: Leucaena leucocephala is present in sugarcane and food crops where it can become a serious weed. It is almost absent from other crops but can occupy the edges of fields.
Wiktrop
| Attributions | Wiktrop |
| Contributors | |
| Status | UNDER_CREATION |
| Licenses | CC_BY |
| References |
No Data
📚 Uses and Management
Uses
There is content in another language. Please click here to read it. (Français)
Fodder: Leucaena leucocephala is a high protein feed, which however contains anti-nutritional components (mimosine and tannins); they reduce the digestibility of other nutrients and make it toxic to non-ruminants (in particular horses).
Wiktrop
| Attributions | Wiktrop |
| Contributors | |
| Status | UNDER_CREATION |
| Licenses | CC_BY_SA |
| References |
Management
Global control
Biological control: The Leucaena psyllid (Heteropsylla cubana) is an important pest of this plant. It is a small insect of 1 to 2 mm long and yellowish green in color that has been used in biological control.
Local control
New Caledonia: Leucaena leucocephala is a feed timber rich in nitrogen, which is generally considered useful by breeders (especially for the passage of the dry season), however its high potential for dissemination also makes it an invasive species for some pastures where it can form monospecific stands harmful to grass. Given its content of anti-nutritional components, it is advisable to limit the maximum proportion in a pasture to 50%. It is also a dreadful environmental plague for which Livestock farming methods should necessarily limit its spread. Hedges plantation with 3 m line spacing (grasses) constitute a balanced pasture in nitrogen and allowing a balanced exploitation for livestock. Regular browsing by livestock limits the development of Leucaena leucocephala 2 or 3 m high and uncontrolled extension. This is also to prevent the maturation of the pods to limit the spread of this species in the environment.
Biological control: The Leucaena psyllid (Heteropsylla cubana) is an important pest of this plant. It is a small insect of 1 to 2 mm long and yellowish green in color that has been used in biological control.
Local control
New Caledonia: Leucaena leucocephala is a feed timber rich in nitrogen, which is generally considered useful by breeders (especially for the passage of the dry season), however its high potential for dissemination also makes it an invasive species for some pastures where it can form monospecific stands harmful to grass. Given its content of anti-nutritional components, it is advisable to limit the maximum proportion in a pasture to 50%. It is also a dreadful environmental plague for which Livestock farming methods should necessarily limit its spread. Hedges plantation with 3 m line spacing (grasses) constitute a balanced pasture in nitrogen and allowing a balanced exploitation for livestock. Regular browsing by livestock limits the development of Leucaena leucocephala 2 or 3 m high and uncontrolled extension. This is also to prevent the maturation of the pods to limit the spread of this species in the environment.
Wiktrop
| Attributions | Wiktrop |
| Contributors | |
| Status | UNDER_CREATION |
| Licenses | CC_BY |
| References |
There is content in another language. Please click here to read it. (Français)
No Data
📚 Information Listing
Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
Thomas Le Bourgeois
| Attributions | |
| Contributors | |
| Status | UNDER_CREATION |
| Licenses | CC_BY |
| References |
There is content in another language. Please click here to read it. (Français)
References
- Bosser J., Cadet TH., Guého J. & Marais W. 1990. Flore des Mascareignes, Vol. 80 Légumineuses in Bosser J., Fergusson I.K. Soopramanien C. ed. Flore des Mascareignes, La Réunion, Maurice, Rodrigues. MSIRI, Maurice, IRD, France, RBG, UK.
- http://www.issg.org/database/species/ecology.asp?si=23&fr=1&sts=sss&lang=FR
- CABI https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/31634
- Feedipedia https://www.feedipedia.org/node/282
- Grossard, F., Le Bourgeois, T., Dumbardon-Martial, E. & Gervais, L. 2013. Adventilles - Guadeloupe & Martinique - Les adventices des Antilles françaises. Abymes, Guadeloupe, France, Les éditions du CTCS Guadeloupe. 195 p.
- Plants of the World Online https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:138955-2
- Fournet, J. 2002. Flore illustrée des phanérogames de Guadeloupe et de Martinique. Montpellier, France, Cirad, Gondwana éditions.
- Invasives South Africa https://invasives.org.za/fact-sheet/leucaena/
- Barthelat, F. 2019. La Flore illustrée de Mayotte. Meze, Paris, France, Collection Inventaires et Biodiversité, Biotope – Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle. 487 p.
- Blanfort V, Desmoulins F, Prosperi J, Le Bourgeois T, Guiglion R, Grard P (2010) AdvenPaC V.1.0 : Adventices et plantes à conflit d'intérêt des Pâturages de Nouvelle-Calédonie. IAC, Cirad, Montpellier, France, http://idao.cirad.fr/applications
- Huat, J., Nagy, M., Carpente, A., Schwartz, M., Le Bourgeois, T. & Marnotte, P. 2021. Guide de la flore spontannée des agrosystèmes de Mayotte. Montpellier, Cirad. 150 p.
Information Listing > References
- Bosser J., Cadet TH., Guého J. & Marais W. 1990. Flore des Mascareignes, Vol. 80 Légumineuses in Bosser J., Fergusson I.K. Soopramanien C. ed. Flore des Mascareignes, La Réunion, Maurice, Rodrigues. MSIRI, Maurice, IRD, France, RBG, UK.
- http://www.issg.org/database/species/ecology.asp?si=23&fr=1&sts=sss&lang=FR
- CABI https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/31634
- Feedipedia https://www.feedipedia.org/node/282
- Grossard, F., Le Bourgeois, T., Dumbardon-Martial, E. & Gervais, L. 2013. Adventilles - Guadeloupe & Martinique - Les adventices des Antilles françaises. Abymes, Guadeloupe, France, Les éditions du CTCS Guadeloupe. 195 p.
- Plants of the World Online https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:138955-2
- Fournet, J. 2002. Flore illustrée des phanérogames de Guadeloupe et de Martinique. Montpellier, France, Cirad, Gondwana éditions.
- Invasives South Africa https://invasives.org.za/fact-sheet/leucaena/
- Barthelat, F. 2019. La Flore illustrée de Mayotte. Meze, Paris, France, Collection Inventaires et Biodiversité, Biotope – Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle. 487 p.
- Blanfort V, Desmoulins F, Prosperi J, Le Bourgeois T, Guiglion R, Grard P (2010) AdvenPaC V.1.0 : Adventices et plantes à conflit d'intérêt des Pâturages de Nouvelle-Calédonie. IAC, Cirad, Montpellier, France, http://idao.cirad.fr/applications
- Huat, J., Nagy, M., Carpente, A., Schwartz, M., Le Bourgeois, T. & Marnotte, P. 2021. Guide de la flore spontannée des agrosystèmes de Mayotte. Montpellier, Cirad. 150 p.
- HEAR http://www.hear.org/pier/species/leucaena_leucocephala.htm
Clé d'identification des graines des principales adventices de La Réunion. Version 1 - 55 espèces
TL
Thomas Le BourgeoisPlantes envahissantes et dégradation des pâturages et des espaces pastoraux en Nouvelle-Calédonie
TL
Thomas Le BourgeoisLa flore des mauvaises herbes de la Canne à Sucre à La Réunion. Caractérisation à partir des témoins des essais d’herbicides. 2005-2016
MP
Marnotte PascalWeeds of tropical rainfed cropping systems: are there patterns at a global level of perception?
TL
Thomas Le BourgeoisEtude de la phénologie et des traits de réponse aux pratiques culturales des espèces végétales d'intérêt pour la lutte biologique en vergers d'agrumes à la Réunion
FL
Fabrice LE BELLECReconception et évaluation des systèmes de culture - Le cas de la gestion de l'enherbement en vergers d'agrumes en Guadeloupe
TL
Thomas Le BourgeoisImages
Herbarium pictures ReCOLNAT: https://explore.recolnat.org/search/botanique/simplequery=Leucaena%2520leucocephala
Thomas Le Bourgeois
| Attributions | |
| Contributors | |
| Status | UNDER_CREATION |
| Licenses | CC_BY |
| References |
There is content in another language. Please click here to read it. (Français)
No Data
🐾 Taxonomy
| Root | Root |
| Kingdom | Plantae |
| Phylum | Tracheophyta |
| Class | Magnoliopsida |
| Order | Fabales |
| Family | Fabaceae |
| Genus | Leucaena |
| Species | Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit |
📊 Temporal Distribution
📷 Related Observations
