Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) De Wit

Lead Tree

Tree to about 7 m tall. Leaves with 3-6 pairs of primary divisions, with a gland at the junction of the lowest pair. Leaflets in 6-20 pairs, each 0.5-2 cm long,1.5-4 mm wide. Flowers 1.5-2 cm wide, green to creamy white; summer. Fruit pods 8-18 cm long, 2 cm wide, with a stalk 2-3 cm long.

Widely naturalised in many regions of the world, especially the tropics, sometimes forming dense thickets. Naturalised in Australia in N NSW, Qld and the NT.

Tropical America.

As green manure and as fodder for livestock (toxic to non-ruminants), sometimes for the wood or for erosion control, the seeds as beads.

Source: Spencer, R. (2002). Mimosaceae. In: Spencer, R.. Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 3. Flowering plants. Dicotyledons. Part 2. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.

Hero image
kingdom Plantae
phylum   Tracheophyta
class    Magnoliopsida
superorder     Rosanae
order      Fabales
family       Fabaceae
genus        Leucaena Benth.