Leucaena collinsii - Leadtree
Family:
Native to:
Habitat:
Fabaceae
Native to parts of Mexico.
Seasonally dry deciduous forests. Up to 900 meters above sea level. 12 meters tall.
Ecological value:
Green manure, livestock fodder, and for soil conservation. This species has a symbiotic relationship with soil bacteria that form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen which can be shared with neighboring plants. Pollinated by insects.
Material uses:
The seeds (jumbie beans) can be used as beads. Gum from trunk with similar properties to gum arabic. Good quality wood, durable, high proportion heartwood. Used in house construction and for fence posts. Prized as fuelwood.
Edible uses:
Seeds raw or cooked. Young pods, leaves and flower buds as greens.
Medicinal use:
Some species are used medicinally to treat fevers,, calm nerves, as a contraception and for abortions (L. leucocephala).
Other details:
Flowers between August and November and fruits from February to April. Highly deciduous and sheds its leaves during the prolonged dry season from December to April. Firewood.
Used as a live fence. Resistant to psyllid pests. Listed as near threatened.
Research:
Marian Farrell/Christine Facella
Sources:
“Leucaena Collinsii Britton & Rose | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science.” n.d. Plants of the World Online. https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:138941-2.
“Leucaena Collinsii - Useful Tropical Plants.” n.d. Tropical.theferns.info. Accessed November 12, 2023. https://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Leucaena+collinsii.
2021. Unu.edu. 2021. https://archive.unu.edu/unupress/food/8F163e/8F163E08.htm.
Facciola. S., ‘Cornucopia II’, Kampong Publications, California, 1998
Image source: Ek Balam