Leucaena leucocephala

{{Short description|Species of legume}} {{Redirect|Ipil-ipil|text = It is not to be confused with the Ipil plant}} {{Speciesbox | image = Leucena (Leucaena leucocephala) em Bagé, RS, Brasil - 55223237062.jpg | image2 = Leucaena_leucocephala.jpg | image_caption = Shrub in southern Brazil | genus = Leucaena | species = leucocephala | authority = (Lam.) de Wit<ref name="GRIN">{{GRIN | access-date=2010-01-18}}</ref> | synonyms = *''Acacia frondosa'' Willd. * ''Acacia glauca'' (L.) Willd. * ''Acacia leucocephala'' (Lam.) Link * ''Acacia leucophala'' Link * ''Leucaena glabra'' Benth. * ''Leucaena glauca''<ref name="Corner">{{cite book |last1=Corner |first1=E. J. H. |author-link=E. J. H. Corner |date=1997 |title=Wayside Trees of Malaya |volume=I |edition=4th |page=413 |publisher=Malayan Nature Society }}</ref> Benth. * ''Mimosa glauca'' sensu L.1763 Misapplied * ''Mimosa glauca'' Koenig ex Roxb. * ''Mimosa leucocephala'' Lam. * ''Mimosa leucophala'' Lam. | synonyms_ref = <ref name="POWO">{{cite web |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:138955-2 |title=''Leucaena leucocephala'' (Lam.) de Wit |date=2024 |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |access-date=12 March 2024}}</ref> }}

'''''Leucaena leucocephala''''' is a small fast-growing mimosoid tree native to southern Mexico and northern Central America (Belize and Guatemala).<ref name="GRIN"/><ref name = Hughes>{{cite book | last = Hughes | first = Colin E. | title = Monograph of Leucaena (Leguminosae-Mimosoideae) | series = Systematic botany monographs v. 55 | year = 1998 | isbn = 978-0-912861-55-5 }}</ref> It is now naturalized throughout the tropics including parts of Asia.

Common names include '''white leadtree''',<ref>{{cite web |url=https://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=LELE10 |title=PLANTS Profile for ''Leucaena leucocephala'' (white leadtree) |work=PLANTS Database |publisher=United States Department of Agriculture |access-date=2009-09-19}}</ref> '''white popinac''',<ref name="GRIN"/> '''horse tamarind''',<ref name="GRIN"/> '''ipil-ipil''',<ref name="FTL">{{cite book |editor-last1=Shelton |editor-first1=H.M. |editor-last2=Brewbaker |editor-first2=J.L. |chapter=2.1 Leucaena leucocephala – the Most Widely Used Forage Tree Legume |chapter-url=http://www.fao.org/ag/agp/agpc/doc/publicat/gutt-shel/x5556e06.htm |title=Forage tree legumes in tropical agriculture |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |access-date=24 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171108181232/http://www.fao.org/ag/AGP/AGPC/doc/Publicat/Gutt-shel/x5556e06.htm |archive-date=8 November 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Matthews |first1=Donald Maxwell|series=Forestry Bureau Bulletin|volume=13 |title=Ipil-ipil: A firewood and reforestation crop (Leucaena glauca (L.) Benth) |date=1914 |publisher=Bureau of Printing, Philippine Islands, Bureau of Forestry |location=Manila}}</ref> '''koa haole''',<ref name=Leucaena>{{cite web |title=Koa haole, leucaena |url=https://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/gsp/doc/Forestry/Little_Skolmen_CFT/CFT_Leucaena_leucocephala.pdf |work=Common Forest Trees of Hawaii (Native and Introduced) |access-date=3 October 2024}}</ref> and '''tan-tan'''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Plants – Buck Island Reef |url=https://www.nps.gov/buis/learn/nature/plants.htm |publisher=National Park Service (US) |access-date=19 January 2023}}</ref>

''Leucaena leucocephala'' is used for a variety of purposes, such as fencing, soil fertility, firewood, fiber, and livestock fodder.

== Description == thumb|Leaves

''Leucaena leucocephala'' is a small tree, growing up to {{Convert|7-18|m}}. Its bark is grey and cracked. The branches have no thorns, each branch has 6–8 pairs of leaf stalks that bear 11–23 pairs of leaflets, each leaflet is 8–17 mm long with a pale green surface and whitish underneath.<ref name="FTL"/><ref name="Corner"/>

Its inflorescence is a cream-coloured puff with many stamens. They produce flat and straight seed pods measuring {{Convert abbreviated|13-18|cm}} long that matures from a green colour to a brown; one pod contains between 15 and 30 seeds.<ref name="FTL"/>

<gallery mode="packed" heights="160px"> File:Leucaena leucocephala NP.JPG|''L. leucocephala'' pods in the month of May, Nepal File:Leucaena leucocephala MHNT.BOT.2011.3.71.jpg|Dried ''L. leucocephala'' pod and seeds - MHNT </gallery>

==Ecology== ''Leucaena leucocephala'' is susceptible to insect infestations. In the 1980s, a widespread loss in Southeast Asia was due to pest attack by psyllids.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Carter |first=Jane |date=June 1995 |title=Alley farming: have resource-poor farmers benefited? |url=https://media.odi.org/documents/2985.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240616052020/https://media.odi.org/documents/2985.pdf |archive-date=2024-06-16 |website=ODI}}</ref>

In India, this tree was initially promoted for afforestation due to its fast-growing nature. However, it is now considered unsuitable for urban planting because of its tendency to get uprooted in rain and wind. Eight of every ten trees uprooted by wind in Pune are ''L. leucocephala''.<ref>{{cite news |last=Das |first=Dipannita |date=8 May 2011 |title=Activists want Pune Municipal Corporation to allow cutting of subabul trees in city |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/Activists-want-Pune-Municipal-Corporation-to-allow-cutting-of-subabul-trees-in-city/articleshow/8200176.cms |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120715011056/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/Activists-want-Pune-Municipal-Corporation-to-allow-cutting-of-subabul-trees-in-city/articleshow/8200176.cms |archive-date=15 July 2012 |access-date=9 May 2011 |newspaper=The Times of India}}</ref>

==Invasive properties== ''Leucaena leucocephala'' is considered one of the 100 worst invasive species by the Invasive Species Specialist Group of the IUCN Species Survival Commission.<ref name="GISB">{{cite web |title=Leucaena leucocephala (tree) |url=http://www.invasivespecies.net/database/species/ecology.asp?si=23&fr=1&sts=sss&lang=EN |access-date=2010-01-18 |work=Global Invasive Species Database |publisher=Invasive Species Specialist Group}}</ref>

It is a highly invasive species in the arid parts of Taiwan, The Bahamas, the Hawaiian Islands, Fiji, Puerto Rico, Hong Kong, South Africa,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.invasives.org.za/legislation/item/270-leucaena-leucaena-leucocephala|title=Leucaena | Leucaena leucocephala|access-date=2017-10-04|archive-date=2017-10-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171005050614/http://www.invasives.org.za/legislation/item/270-leucaena-leucaena-leucocephala|url-status=dead|website=Invasive Species South Africa}}</ref> and northern Australia,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.weeds.org.au/cgi-bin/weedident.cgi?tpl=plant.tpl&state=&s=&ibra=all&card=T20 |title=Leucaena ''Leucaena leucocephala'' |work=Weed Identification & Information |publisher=Australian Weeds Strategy |access-date=2009-09-19 |archive-date=2009-09-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090930022449/http://www.weeds.org.au/cgi-bin/weedident.cgi?tpl=plant.tpl&state=&s=&ibra=all&card=T20 |url-status=dead }}</ref> as well as in northern Malay Peninsula,<ref name="Corner" /> South America and Southern Europe.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fonseca |first1=N.G. |last2=Jacobi |first2=C.M. |date=2011 |title=Desempenho germinativo da invasora ''Leucaena leucocephala'' (Lam.) de Wit. e comparação com ''Caesalpinia ferrea'' Mart. ex Tul. e ''Caesalpinia pulcherrima'' (L.) Sw. (Fabaceae) |language=pt |journal=Acta Botanica Brasilica |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=191–197 |doi=10.1590/S0102-33062011000100022 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

The plant is also found in parts of the U.S., including California, Arizona, Texas, Hawaii, and Florida.<ref name="usda">{{cite web|url=https://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=LELE10|title=Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit white leadtree|publisher=United States Department of Agriculture|access-date=8 June 2010}}</ref> thumb|240px|''Leucaena leucocephala'' wood and bark

It grows quickly and forms dense thickets that crowd out all native vegetation.<ref>Kuo, Yau-Lun. "Ecological Characteristics of Three Invasive Plants (Leucaena Leucocephala, Mikania Micrantha, and Stachytarpheta Urticaefolia) in Southern Taiwan." 12 1 2003.http://www.agnet.org/library/eb/541/ (accessed 3 24 2008).</ref>

In urban areas, it is an especially unwanted species, growing along arid roadsides, in carparks, and on abandoned land.<ref>[http://www.devb.gov.hk/filemanager/technicalcirculars/en/upload/16/1/C-2006-03-0-1.pdf Tree Preservation]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Leucaena leucocephala|url=http://www.hkflora.com/qef/site_peak/plant/show_plant.php?plantnum=11751|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305141547/http://hkflora.com/qef/site_peak/plant/show_plant.php?plantnum=11751|archive-date=2016-03-05|access-date=2017-08-04|website=Hong Kong Flora and Vegetation}}</ref>

== Toxicity == The seeds of ''Leucaena leucocephala'' contain mimosine, an amino acid known to be toxic to nonruminant vertebrates.<ref name="fao.org">{{Cite web |title=2.1 Leucaena leucocephala – the Most Widely Used Forage Tree Legume |url=http://www.fao.org/ag/AGP/AGPC/doc/Publicat/Gutt-shel/x5556e06.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160715130422/http://www.fao.org/ag/AGP/AGPC/doc/Publicat/Gutt-shel/x5556e06.htm |archive-date=2016-07-15 |access-date=2017-08-04 |website=www.fao.org}}</ref>

== Uses == During the 1970s and 1980s, ''Leucaena leucocephala'' was promoted as a "miracle tree" for its multiple uses.<ref name="fao.org" /> It has also been described as a "conflict tree" because it is used for forage production but spreads like a weed in some places.<ref name="GISB" />

The legume is promoted in several countries of Southeast Asia (at least Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos,<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite news |date=2011-06-15 |title=Farmers to grow leucaena for animal feed |newspaper=Vientiane Times}}</ref> and Thailand), most importantly as a source of quality animal feed, but also for residual use for firewood or charcoal production.

=== Culinary === The young pods are edible and occasionally eaten in Javanese vegetable salad with spicy peanut sauce, and spicy fish wrapped in papaya or taro leaves in Indonesia, and in papaya salad in Laos<ref name="ReferenceA" /> and Thailand, where they are known as {{Lang|th-Latn|phak krathin}} ({{langx|th|ผักกระถิน}}).<ref>{{usurped|[https://web.archive.org/web/20111008191140/http://www.aseanbiodiversity.info/Abstract/53002579.pdf ASEAN Biodiversity]}}</ref> In Mexico it is eaten in soups and also inside tacos, it is known as ''guaje''.{{Citation needed|date=July 2025}} Cooking is thought to remove most of the poison.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2010-06-17 |title=Leucaena leucocephala - White Leadtree, Lead Tree, Koa Haole, Ekoa, Leucaena, Horse Tamarind, Jumbie Bean, White Popinac |url=https://wildlifeofhawaii.com/flowers/1266/leucaena-leucocephala-white-leadtree/ |access-date=2025-07-09 |website=Hawaiian Plants and Tropical Flowers |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Forage and fodder === The legume provides an excellent source of high-protein cattle fodder.<ref name="purdue">{{cite web |title=Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) deWit. |url=http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/leucaena_leucocephala.html |access-date=8 June 2010 |publisher=hort.purdue.edu}}</ref> However, the fodder contains mimosine, a toxic amino acid. Horses and donkeys which are fed it lose their hair.

In many cases this acid is metabolized by ruminants to goitrogenic DHP [3-hydroxy-4(1H) pyridone] in the rumen,<ref>Hammond, A. C. 1995. Leucaena toxicosis and its control in ruminants. J. Animal Sci. 73: 1487–1492.</ref><ref>Allison, M. J., A. C. Hammond, and R. J. Jones. 1990. Detection of ruminal bacteria that degrade toxic dihydroxypyridine compounds produced from mimosine. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 56: 590–594.</ref> but in some geographical areas, ruminants lack the organisms (such as ''Synergistes jonesii'') that can degrade DHP.

In such cases, toxicity problems from ingestion of ''Leucaena'' have sometimes been overcome by infusing susceptible animals with rumen fluid from ruminants that possess such organisms,<ref>Allison, M. J., W. R. Mayberry, C. S. Mcsweeney, and D. A. Stahl. 1992. Synergistes jonesii, gen. nov., sp. nov.: a rumen bacterium that degrades toxic pyridinediols. Syst. Appl. Microbiol. 15: 522–529.</ref> and more recently by inoculating cattle rumina with such organisms cultured in vitro.<ref>Graham, S. R., S. A. Dalzell, Nguyen Trong Ngu, C. K. Davis, D. Greenway, C. S. McSweeney, and H. M. Shelton. 2013. Efficacy, persistence and presence of Synergistes jonesii in cattle grazing leucaena in Queensland: on-farm observations pre-and post-inoculation. Animal Prod. Sci. 53: 1065–1074.</ref><ref name="Qld-inoculum">{{cite web |date=2020-08-26 |title=''Leucaena'' inoculum for cattle |url=http://www.business.qld.gov.au/industries/farms-fishing-forestry/agriculture/livestock/cattle/leucaena-inoculum-cattle |access-date=2021-08-12 |website=Business Queensland}}</ref>

Such measures have facilitated ''Leucaena'' use for fodder in Australia and elsewhere.<ref name="Qld-inoculum" />

===Green manure and biomass production=== thumb|Tree ''Leucaena leucocephala'' has been considered for biomass production because its reported yield of foliage corresponds to a dried mass of {{formatnum:2000–20000}} kg/ha/year, and that of wood 30–40 m3/ha/year, with up to twice those amounts in favorable climates. In India it is being promoted for both fodder and energy.<ref>[https://www.thebetterindia.com/172164/subabul-tree-fodder-fuel-nitrogen-environment-animals/ Subabul Reloaded: How One Tree Could Be the Answer to India’s Fodder, Fuel Needs; Published] in The Better India, 11 February 2019</ref>

It is also efficient in nitrogen fixation, at more than 500 kg/ha/year.

It has a very fast growth rate: young trees reach a height of more than {{Convert abbreviated|20|ft}} in two to three years.

===Pulpwood for paper industry=== The wood of ''Leucaena leucocephala'' is used for making pulp in the pulp and paper industry. In the southern and central states of India, it is the most important pulpwood species for making pulp. It has huge positive socio-economic impact on the livelihood of the small farmers where ''Leucaena leucocephala'' is grown as an industrial crop. This provides an alternative crop to the farmers of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where they are also growing cotton and chillies.

=== Potential as bioherbicidal agent === ''Leucaena leucocephala'' is an allelopathic tree. Phytotoxic allelochemicals, such as mimosine and certain phenolic compounds, including p-hydroxycinnamic acid, protocatechuic acid, and gallic acid, have been identified in the leaves of the species.<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01012362 | doi=10.1007/BF01012362 | title=Allelopathic research of subtropical vegetation in Taiwan | year=1986 |author1-link=Chou Chang-hung | last1=Chou | first1=Chang -Hung | last2=Kuo | first2=Yaw -Lun | journal=Journal of Chemical Ecology | volume=12 | issue=6 | pages=1431–1448 | pmid=24307122 | bibcode=1986JCEco..12.1431C | s2cid=25942600 | url-access=subscription }}</ref> Bioherbicidal activity of ''L. leucocephala'' on terrestrial plants<ref>Hong NH, Xuan TD, Eiji T, Hiroyuki T, Mitsuhiro M, Khanh TD (2003) Screening for allelopathic potential of higher plants from Southeast Asia. Crop Protection 22:829–836</ref><ref>John J, Narwal SS (2003) Allelopathic plants. 9. Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit. Allelopath J 12:13–36 OpenURL</ref> and aquatic weed water hyacinth<ref>Chai TT, Ooh KF, Ooi PW, Chue PS, Wong FC (2013) [http://www.as-botanicalstudies.com/content/54/1/8#B17 ''Leucaena leucocephala'' leachate compromised membrane integrity, respiration and antioxidative defence of water hyacinth leaf tissues]. Botanical Studies 54: 8.</ref> were reported.

==In culture== The state of Oaxaca in Mexico derives its name from the Nahuatl word {{Lang|nhe|huaxyacac}}, the name for ''Leucaena leucocephala'' trees that are found around Oaxaca City.<ref name="consular">{{cite web |last=Consular |first=Gaceta |date=October 1996 |title=Oaxaca |url=http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/2815-oaxaca |access-date=August 15, 2010 |publisher=MexConnect}}</ref>

==Gallery== <gallery> File:Leucaena leucocephala extrafloral nectary 370203890.jpg|Extrafloral nectary File:Subabul - പീലിവാക 03.JPG|{{center|Flowers and immature fruit}} File:Pollens of Leucaena leucocephala 2.jpg|{{center|Pollen}} File:Sapling of Leucaena leucocephala.jpg|Sapling of ''Leucaena leucocephala''. The cotyledons are visible. File:Leucaena leucocephala00.jpg|{{center|Pod and seeds}} File:Subabul tree, Mira-Bhayander.jpg|{{center|Subabul growing wild on the outskirts of Mumbai}} </gallery>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *{{Commons category-inline}} *{{cite web|last=M. Suttie|first=Jim|title=Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit|url=http://www.fao.org/ag/agp/AGPC/doc/Gbase/DATA/Pf000158.htm|work=Grassland Species Profiles|publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations|access-date=5 July 2013|archive-date=22 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130122015010/http://www.fao.org/ag/AGP/agpc/doc/gbase/DATA/pf000158.htm|url-status=dead}} *[https://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/Leucaena_leucocephala.html Handbook of Energy Crops at Purdue University: ''Leucaena leucocephala''] *[http://www.odi.org.uk/fpeg/publications/greyliterature/socialforestry/relwani/index.html Economics of Subabul Plantation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080121205939/http://www.odi.org.uk/fpeg/publications/greyliterature/socialforestry/relwani/index.html |date=2008-01-21 }} In Hegde, N.G. and Abhyanker, P.D. (eds.) The Greening of Wastelands. *Relwani, L.L. & Hegde, N.G. 1986. *[https://web.archive.org/web/20150304155421/http://www.tropicalforages.info/key/Forages/Media/Html/Leucaena_leucocephala.htm Leucaena leucocephala factsheet] *Pradip Krishen, 'Trees of Delhi a Field Guide', DK publishers, Page 291, 2006

leucocephala Category:Trees of Belize Category:Trees of Guatemala Category:Trees of Northern America Category:Asian vegetables Category:Forages Category:Drought-tolerant trees Category:Plants described in 1961 Category:Taxa named by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck