Flora of North America species comparison

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Leucaena leucocephala

koa haole, lead tree, white leadtree
Habit Shrubs or trees 3–15(–20) m, twigs and petioles puberulent.
Leaves

petiole 2–3 cm;

gland saucer-shaped;

pinnae 4–8 pairs;

rachis 9–11 cm;

leaflets 26–32, rachilla 7–8 cm, blade oblong, 8–14 × 2–4.5 mm.
Inflorescences

fascicled in distal axils, 1–2 cm diam.;

bracts inconspicuous.
Peduncles

1–2.5 cm, pubescent.
Flowers

calyx tube strigose;

petals distinct, white, puberulent;

anthers sparsely hairy, tip rounded.
Legumes

green becoming red to brown, flat, compressed, 12–21 × 1.4–2 cm.
2n

= 104.

Leucaena leucocephala
Phenology Flowering and fruiting year-round.
Habitat introduced also in tropical and subtropical areas worldwide..
Elevation 0–500 m. [0–1600 ft.]
Distribution
from FNA
FL; TX; Mexico; Central America; South America; West Indies [Introduced in North America; introduced also in tropical and subtropical areas worldwide]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Leucaena leucocephala is probably native in the New World tropics and is now pantropical as a weed. It is planted for food and animal forage and is used as firewood. Because it is cultivated in Arizona and California, it should be expected as a weed. Leucaena leucocephala is a self-compatible tetraploid.

C. E. Hughes (1998) recognized three subspecies in Leucaena leucocephala, two of which occur in North America: subsp. glabrata (Rose) Zárate (arborescent) and subsp. leucocephala (shrubby), with traits which are not determinable from herbarium specimens; their character states are otherwise overlapping.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 11. Treatment author: Neil A. Harriman†.
Parent taxa Fabaceae > subfam. Caesalpinioideae (Mimosoid clade) > Leucaena
Sibling taxa
L. pulverulenta, L. retusa
Synonyms Mimosa leucocephala
Name authority (Lamarck) de Wit: Taxon 10: 54. (1961)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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