Taxon: Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit

 
Genus: Leucaena
Family: Fabaceae (alt.Leguminosae)
Subfamily: Caesalpinioideae
Tribe: Mimoseae
Nomen number: 21959
Place of publication: Taxon 10:54. 1961
Link to protologue:
Typification:
Name Verified on: 30-oct-1989 by ARS Systematic Botanists. Last Changed: 10-oct-2018
Species priority site is: Plant Genetic Resources Conservation Unit, Griffin, GA (S9)
Accessions: 4 in National Plant Germplasm System (GoogleMap)

Synonyms:

Common names:

Economic Importance:

  • Environmental: agroforestry (fide Pl Res SEAs 4:150. 1992)
  • Animal food: fodder (fide Food Feed Crops US)
  • Animal food: forage (fide Food Feed Crops US)
  • Fuels: fuelwood (fide Firewood Cr)
  • Materials: beads (fide Bot Beads World; as http://www.botanicalbeads.com/BBB_page_25.html,)
  • Materials: fiber (fide Pl Res SEAs 11:175. 1997, pulp for the manufacture of paper)
  • Materials: potential as tannin/dyestuff (fide Trop Leg)
  • Vertebrate poisons: mammals (fide Kingsbury; Lampe & McCann)
  • Weed: potential seed contaminant (fide Rep NCEPPC; Invasive Pl Spec; Weeds SAfr 2001)

Distributional Range:

    Native

    Northern America
    • SOUTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Campeche, Chiapas, Oaxaca (s.e.), Quintana Roo, Tabasco, Veracruz, Yucatan]

    Southern America
    • CENTRAL AMERICA: Belize (n.), Guatemala (w.)


    Cultivated (also cult.)

    Naturalized

    Africa
    • MACARONESIA: Cape Verde, Portugal, [Madeira Islands] Spain [Canary Islands]
    • NORTHERN AFRICA: Egypt
    • NORTHEAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Chad, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan
    • EAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda
    • WEST-CENTRAL TROPICAL AFRICA: Burundi, Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome and Principe, Zaire
    • WEST TROPICAL AFRICA: Cote D'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo
    • SOUTH TROPICAL AFRICA: Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe
    • SOUTHERN AFRICA: South Africa, [KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Limpopo, Mpumalanga] Swaziland
    • WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN: Comoros, Mauritius, Reunion, Seychelles

    Asia-Temperate
    • CHINA: China

    Asia-Tropical
    • INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
    • PAPUASIA: Solomon Islands
    • INDO-CHINA: India [Andaman and Nicobar]
    • MALESIA: Philippines

    Australasia
    • AUSTRALIA: Australia

    Europe
    • Europe (s.)

    Northern America
    • SOUTHEASTERN U.S.A.: United States [Florida]
    • SOUTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.: United States [Texas]

    Pacific
    • NORTH-CENTRAL PACIFIC: United States [Hawaii]
    • NORTHWESTERN PACIFIC: Guam, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau
    • SOUTH-CENTRAL PACIFIC: Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Kiribati [Line Islands]
    • SOUTHWESTERN PACIFIC: American Samoa, Fiji, Kiribati, [Gilbert Islands] Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna Islands

    Southern America
    • WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA: Ecuador [Galapagos Islands]


References:

  1. Webster's third new international dictionary. 1961 (Websters Dict)
  2. Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource on www.skud.info). 2012 (Kulturvaxtdatabas)
  3. Bosser, J. M. et al., eds. Flores des Mascareignes. 1976- (F Mascar)
  4. Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds. 1997. Auxiliary plants (Pl Res SEAs) 11:175-180.
  5. Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14. 2003 (Pl SAfr ed2)
  6. Hansen, A. & P. Sunding Flora of Macaronesia: checklist of vascular plants, ed. 4. Sommerfeltia vol. 17. (L Macar ed4)
  7. Henderson, L. Alien weeds and invasive plants: a complete guide to declared weeds and invaders in South Africa. Plant Protection Research Institute, Handbook 12. 2001 (Weeds SAfr 2001)
  8. Hnatiuk, R. J. Census of Australian vascular plants. Australian Flora and Fauna Series No. 11. (L Aust)
  9. Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource). (Pacif I Ecosyst Risk)
  10. Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS) Australian plant common name database (on-line resource). (Aust Pl Common Names)
  11. Isely, D. Native and naturalized Leguminosae (Fabaceae) of the United States (exclusive of Alaska and Hawaii). 1998 (Leg US)
  12. Kumar, S & P. V. Sane Legumes of South Asia: a checklist. 2003 (Leg SAsia)
  13. Lampe, K. F. & M. A. McCann AMA handbook of poisonous and injurious plants. 1985 (Lampe & McCann)
  14. Lock, J. M. Legumes of Africa: a checklist. 1989 (Leg Africa)
  15. Mabberley, D. J. The plant-book: a portable dictionary of the vascular plants, ed. 2. 1997 (Pl Book)
  16. Markle, G. M. et al., eds. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2. 1998 (Food Feed Crops US)
  17. McVaugh, R. Flora Novo-Galiciana. 1983- (F NGalicia)
  18. National Academy of Sciences Tropical legumes: resources for the future. 1979 (Trop Leg)
  19. National Academy of Sciences Firewood crops. Shrub and tree species for energy production. 1980 (Firewood Cr)
  20. Rehm, S. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants. 1994 (Dict Rehm)
  21. Smith, R. J. Botanical beads of the world (on-line resource). (Bot Beads World)
  22. 't Mannetje, L. & R. M. Jones, eds. 1992. Forages (Pl Res SEAs) 4:150.
  23. Turner, B. L. The legumes of Texas. 1959 (Leg Tex)
  24. Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. Flora of China (English edition). 1994- (F ChinaEng)

Check other web resources for Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit :


Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN-Taxonomy).
National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. URL: http://germoplasma.iniaf.gob.bo/gringlobal/taxonomydetail.aspx?id=21959. Accessed 7 junio 2026.