Leucaena leucocephala

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Leucaena leucocephala
Leucaena leucocephala.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae
Clade: Mimosoid clade
Genus: Leucaena
Species:
L. leucocephala
Binomial name
Leucaena leucocephala
Synonyms [2]
  • Acacia frondosaWilld.
  • Acacia glauca(L.) Willd.
  • Acacia leucocephala(Lam.) Link
  • Acacia leucophalaLink
  • Leucaena glabraBenth.
  • Leucaena glauca [3] Benth.
  • Mimosa glaucasensu L.1763 Misapplied
  • Mimosa glaucaKoenig ex Roxb.
  • Mimosa leucocephalaLam.
  • Mimosa leucophalaLam.

Leucaena leucocephala is a small fast-growing mimosoid tree native to southern Mexico and northern Central America (Belize and Guatemala) [1] [4] and is now naturalized throughout the tropics including parts of Asia.

Contents

Common names include white leadtree, [5] white popinac, [1] horse tamarind, [1] ipil-ipil, [6] [7] koa haole, [8] and tan-tan. [9]

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

Botany

Leaves. Leucaena leucocephala 20.jpg
Leaves.

The river tamarind tree is small and grows up to 7–18 metres, its bark is grey and cracked. Its 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. [6] [3]

Its inflorescence is a cream-coloured puff with many stamens. They produce flat and straight seed pods measuring 13–18 cm long that matures from a green colour to a brown; one pod contains between 15 and 30 seeds. [6]

Use by humans

During the 1970s and 1980s, it was promoted as a "miracle tree" for its multiple uses. [10] It has also been described as a "conflict tree" because it is used for forage production but spreads like a weed in some places. [11]

The legume is promoted in several countries of Southeast Asia (at least Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, [12] and Thailand), most importantly as a source of quality animal feed, but also for residual use for firewood or charcoal production.

Forage and fodder

The legume provides an excellent source of high-protein cattle fodder. [13] 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, [14] [15] 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, [16] and more recently by inoculating cattle rumina with such organisms cultured in vitro. [17] [18]

Such measures have facilitated Leucaena use for fodder in Australia and elsewhere. [18]

Green manure and biomass production

Leucaena leucocephala has been considered for biomass production because its reported yield of foliage corresponds to a dried mass of 2,000–20,000 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. [19]

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 20 ft in two to three years.

Food for humans

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 [12] and Thailand, where they are known as phak krathin (Thai : ผักกระถิน). [20] In Mexico it is eaten in soups and also inside tacos, it is known as guaje. Additionally, the state of Oaxaca in Mexico derives its name from the Nahuatl word huaxyacac, the name for Leucaena leucocephala trees that are found around Oaxaca City. [21]

Pulpwood for paper industry

Recently, the wood part of the Subabul tree is used for making pulp in the pulp and paper industry. In the southern and central states of India, Subabul is the most important pulpwood species for making pulp. It has huge positive socio-economic impact on the livelihood of the small farmers where Subabul is grown as an industrial crop. This provides an alternate crop choice to the farmers of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states of India where they are also growing cotton and chillies.

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. [11]

It is a highly invasive species in the arid parts of Taiwan, The Bahamas, the Hawaiian Islands, Fiji, Puerto Rico, Hong Kong, South Africa, [22] and northern Australia, [23] as well as in northern Malay Peninsula, [3] South America and Southern Europe. [24]

The plant is also found in parts of the U.S., including California, Arizona, Texas, Hawaii, and Florida. [25]

Leucaena leucocephala wood and bark Leucaena leucocephala Wood in Hong Kong.jpg
Leucaena leucocephala wood and bark

It grows quickly and forms dense thickets that crowd out all native vegetation. [26]

In urban areas, it is an especially unwanted species, growing along arid roadsides, in carparks, and on abandoned land. [27] [28]

Other limitations

This species is susceptible to insect infestations. In the 1980s, a widespread loss in Southeast Asia was due to pest attack by psyllids. [29]

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. [30]

The seeds contain mimosine, an amino acid known to be toxic to nonruminant vertebrates. [10]

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. [31] Bioherbicidal activity of L. leucocephala on terrestrial plants [32] [33] and aquatic weed water hyacinth [34] were reported.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forage</span> Plant material eaten by grazing livestock

Forage is a plant material eaten by grazing livestock. Historically, the term forage has meant only plants eaten by the animals directly as pasture, crop residue, or immature cereal crops, but it is also used more loosely to include similar plants cut for fodder and carried to the animals, especially as hay or silage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legume</span> Plant in the family Fabaceae

Legumes are plants in the family Fabaceae, or the fruit or seeds of such plants. When used as a dry grain for human consumption, the seeds are also called pulses. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, but also as livestock forage and silage, and as soil-enhancing green manure. Well-known legumes include beans, chickpeas, peanuts, lentils, lupins, mesquite, carob, tamarind, alfalfa, and clover. Legumes produce a botanically unique type of fruit – a simple dry fruit that develops from a simple carpel and usually dehisces on two sides.

<i>Macrotyloma uniflorum</i> Species of legume

Macrotyloma uniflorum is a legume native to tropical southern Asia, known for its distinct taste and texture, widely used legume in many cuisines. It is also known for human consumption for its rich nutrients and reputed medicinal properties. It is commonly grown for horse feed, hence the name “horse gram”. Horse gram grown in parts of India, as well as Nepal, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and is introduced to the West Indies. It is consumed whole, sprouted, or ground. It is consumed in many parts of India and is also known as a superfood. Horse gram is also allowed to be eaten on some Hindu fasting days. Medical uses of these legumes have been discussed and is described in the Ayurveda.

<i>Vicia</i> Genus of flowering plants in the bean family Fabaceae

Vicia is a genus of over 240 species of flowering plants that are part of the legume family (Fabaceae), and which are commonly known as vetches. Member species are native to Europe, North America, South America, Asia and Africa. Some other genera of their subfamily Faboideae also have names containing "vetch", for example the vetchlings (Lathyrus) or the milk-vetches (Astragalus). The lentils are included in genus Vicia, and were formerly classified in genus Lens. The broad bean is sometimes separated in a monotypic genus Faba; although not often used today, it is of historical importance in plant taxonomy as the namesake of the order Fabales, the Fabaceae and the Faboideae. The tribe Vicieae in which the vetches are placed is named after the genus' current name. The true peas (Pisum) are among the closest living relatives of vetches.

<i>Lablab</i> Species of plant

Lablab purpureus is a species of bean in the family Fabaceae. It is native to sub-Saharan Africa and India and it is cultivated throughout the tropics for food. English language common names include hyacinth bean, lablab-beanbonavist bean/pea, dolichos bean, seim or sem bean, lablab bean, Egyptian kidney bean, Indian bean, bataw and Australian pea. Lablab is a monotypic genus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Living mulch</span> Cover crop grown with a main crop as mulch

In agriculture, a living mulch is a cover crop interplanted or undersown with a main crop, and intended to serve the purposes of a mulch, such as weed suppression and regulation of soil temperature. Living mulches grow for a long time with the main crops, whereas cover crops are incorporated into the soil or killed with herbicides.

<i>Leucaena</i> Genus of legumes

Leucaena is a genus of flowering plants in the mimosoid clade of the subfamily Caesalpinioideae of the family Fabaceae. It contains about 24 species of trees and shrubs, which are commonly known as leadtrees. They are native to the Americas, ranging from Texas in the United States south to Peru. The generic name is derived from the Greek word λευκός (leukos), meaning "white," referring to the flowers.

<i>Melilotus albus</i> Plant species in the bean family

Melilotus albus, known as honey clover, white melilot (UK), Bokhara clover (Australia), white sweetclover (US), and sweet clover, is a nitrogen-fixing legume in the family Fabaceae. Melilotus albus is considered a valuable honey plant and source of nectar and is often grown for forage. Its characteristic sweet odor, intensified by drying, is derived from coumarin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mimosine</span> Chemical compound

Mimosine or leucenol is a toxic non-protein amino acid chemically similar to tyrosine. It occurs in some Mimosa spp. and all members of the closely related genus Leucaena.

<i>Cytisus proliferus</i> Species of legume

Cytisus proliferus, tagasaste or tree lucerne, is a small spreading evergreen tree that grows 3–4 m (10–13 ft) high. It is a well known fertilizer tree. It is a member of the Fabaceae (pea) family and is indigenous to the dry volcanic slopes of the Canary Islands, but it is now grown in Australia, New Zealand and many other parts of the world as a fodder crop.

<i>Vachellia nilotica</i> Species of flowering plant in the bean family Fabaceae

Vachellia nilotica, more commonly known as Acacia nilotica, and by the vernacular names of gum arabic tree, babul, thorn mimosa, Egyptian acacia or thorny acacia, is a flowering tree in the family Fabaceae. It is native to Africa, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. It is also considered a 'weed of national significance' and an invasive species of concern in Australia, as well as a noxious weed by the federal government of the United States.

<i>Gliricidia sepium</i> Species of legume

Gliricidia sepium, often simply referred to as gliricidia or by its Spanish common name madre de cacao, is a medium size leguminous tree belonging to the family Fabaceae. It is an important multi-purpose legume tree, with a native range from Mexico to Colombia, but now widely introduced to other tropical zones.

<i>Erythrina edulis</i> Species of tree

Erythrina edulis (basul) is a nitrogen fixing tree that is native to the Andean region from western Venezuela to southern Bolivia. Nowadays it is known in Venezuela as "frijol mompás", in Bolivia, Peru and Northwest Argentina as "psonay", "pajuro", "sachaporoto del basul" or "poroto del sacha", in Colombia as "chachafruto", "balú", "baluy" or "sachaporoto" and in Ecuador as "guato". Although it is widely known, it is not commonly cultivated. Future research is needed, especially in agroforestry. Basul is a legume and so it produces protein-rich beans covered in pods which can be used for human or animal nutrition. The leaves and branches can be used as fodder. Besides the agricultural aspects, Erythrina edulis can also be used as a fence plant.

<i>Leucaena retusa</i> Species of legume

Leucaena retusa is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common names littleleaf leadtree, goldenball leadtree, wahoo tree, and lemonball. It is native to Chihuahua and Coahuila in Mexico and Texas in the United States. It also occurs in New Mexico.

<i>Flemingia macrophylla</i> Species of legume

Flemingia macrophylla is a tropical woody leguminous shrub in the family Fabaceae. It is a multipurpose plant widely used in agriculture, crop improvement, fodder, dyes and for various therapeutic purposes. Perhaps, it is the most versatile species of Flemingia in terms of adaptation, medicinal and agricultural applications.

<i>Galega orientalis</i> Species of legume

Galega orientalis is a species of flowering plant in the Fabaceae, the legume family. It is known commonly as fodder galega and eastern galega. It is cultivated as a fodder and forage for livestock.

<i>Alysicarpus vaginalis</i> Species of flowering plant in the legume family

Alysicarpus vaginalis is a species of flowering plant in the legume family, Fabaceae. It is native to parts of Africa and Asia, and it has been introduced to other continents, such as Australia and the Americas. It is cultivated as a fodder for livestock, for erosion control, and as a green manure. Common names include alyce clover, buffalo clover, buffalo-bur, one-leaf clover, and white moneywort.

Synergistes jonesii is a species of bacteria, the type species of its genus. It is a rumen bacterium that degrades toxic pyridinediols including mimosine. It is obligately anaerobic, gram-negative and rod-shaped. It was discovered in 1981 by Raymond J. Jones in Hawaii and Jones' hypothesis was proven in 1986 by himself and R. G. Megarrity.

<i>Calliandra calothyrsus</i> Species of legume

Calliandra calothyrsus is a small leguminous tree or large shrub in the family Fabaceae. It is native to the tropics of Central America where its typical habitat is wet tropical forests or seasonally dry forests with a dry season of four to seven months, when it may become deciduous. This tree grows to about 6 m (20 ft) and has pinnate compound leaves and flowers with a boss of prominent reddish-purple stamens. It is not very drought-tolerant, and the above-ground parts can be short-lived in case of severe drought lasting many months, but the roots regularly resprout.

<i>Leucaena diversifolia</i> Species of plant in the family Fabaceae

Leucaena diversifolia, the wild tamarind or red leucaena, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to Mexico and Central America. It has been introduced as a cattle fodder in many tropical and subtropical locales around the world. It and its hybrid with Leucaena leucocephala are as aggressively invasive as L. leucocephala itself.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Leucaena leucocephala". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 2010-01-18.
  2. ↑ "Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2024. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 Corner, E. J. H. (1997). Wayside Trees of Malaya. Vol. I (4th ed.). Malayan Nature Society. p. 413.
  4. ↑ Hughes, Colin E. (1998). Monograph of Leucaena (Leguminosae-Mimosoideae). Systematic botany monographs v. 55. ISBN   978-0-912861-55-5.
  5. ↑ "PLANTS Profile for Leucaena leucocephala (white leadtree)". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
  6. 1 2 3 Shelton, H.M.; Brewbaker, J.L. (eds.). "2.1 Leucaena leucocephala – the Most Widely Used Forage Tree Legume". Forage tree legumes in tropical agriculture. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Archived from the original on 8 November 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  7. ↑ Matthews, Donald Maxwell (1914). Ipil-ipil: A firewood and reforestation crop (Leucaena glauca (L.) Benth). Forestry Bureau Bulletin. Vol. 13. Manila: Bureau of Printing, Philippine Islands, Bureau of Forestry.
  8. ↑ "Koa haole, leucaena" (PDF). Common Forest Trees of Hawaii (Native and Introduced). Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  9. ↑ "Plants – Buck Island Reef". National Park Service (US). Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  10. 1 2 "2.1 Leucaena leucocephala – the Most Widely Used Forage Tree Legume". www.fao.org. Archived from the original on 2016-07-15. Retrieved 2017-08-04.
  11. 1 2 "Leucaena leucocephala (tree)". Global Invasive Species Database. Invasive Species Specialist Group. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
  12. 1 2 "Farmers to grow leucaena for animal feed". Vientiane Times. 2011-06-15.
  13. ↑ "Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) deWit". hort.purdue.edu. Retrieved 8 June 2010.
  14. ↑ Hammond, A. C. 1995. Leucaena toxicosis and its control in ruminants. J. Animal Sci. 73: 1487–1492.
  15. ↑ 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.
  16. ↑ 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.
  17. ↑ 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.
  18. 1 2 "Leucaena inoculum for cattle". Business Queensland. 2020-08-26. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  19. ↑ Subabul Reloaded: How One Tree Could Be the Answer to India’s Fodder, Fuel Needs; Published in The Better India, 11 February 2019
  20. ↑ ASEAN Biodiversity
  21. ↑ Consular, Gaceta (October 1996). "Oaxaca". MexConnect. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
  22. ↑ "Invasive Species South Africa – Protecting Biodiversity from Invasion – Leucaena | Leucaena leucocephala". Archived from the original on 2017-10-05. Retrieved 2017-10-04.
  23. ↑ "Leucaena Leucaena leucocephala". Weed Identification & Information. Australian Weeds Strategy. Archived from the original on 2009-09-30. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
  24. ↑ Fonseca, N.G.; Jacobi, C.M. (2011). "Desempenho germinativo da invasora Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit. e comparação com Caesalpinia ferrea Mart. ex Tul. e Caesalpinia pulcherrima (L.) Sw. (Fabaceae)". Acta Botanica Brasilica (in Portuguese). 25 (1): 191–197. doi: 10.1590/S0102-33062011000100022 .
  25. ↑ "Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit white leadtree". United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 8 June 2010.
  26. ↑ 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).
  27. ↑ Tree Preservation
  28. ↑ "Leucaena leucocephala – Hong Kong Flora and Vegetation". www.hkflora.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2017-08-04.
  29. ↑ Carter, Jane (June 1995). "Alley farming: have resource-poor farmers benefited?" (PDF). ODI. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2024-06-16.
  30. ↑ Das, Dipannita (8 May 2011). "Activists want Pune Municipal Corporation to allow cutting of subabul trees in city". The Times of India . Archived from the original on 15 July 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
  31. ↑ Chou, Chang -Hung; Kuo, Yaw -Lun (1986). "Allelopathic research of subtropical vegetation in Taiwan". Journal of Chemical Ecology. 12 (6): 1431–1448. Bibcode:1986JCEco..12.1431C. doi:10.1007/BF01012362. PMID   24307122. S2CID   25942600.
  32. ↑ 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
  33. ↑ John J, Narwal SS (2003) Allelopathic plants. 9. Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit. Allelopath J 12:13–36 OpenURL
  34. ↑ Chai TT, Ooh KF, Ooi PW, Chue PS, Wong FC (2013) Leucaena leucocephala leachate compromised membrane integrity, respiration and antioxidative defence of water hyacinth leaf tissues. Botanical Studies 54: 8.
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