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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 .
[4] They are native to the
Americas , ranging from
Texas in the
United States south to
Peru .
[5] The generic name is derived from the
Greek word λευκός (leukos ), meaning "white," referring to the
flowers .
[6]
Leucaena species are grown for their variety of uses, including as
green manure , a
charcoal source,
livestock
fodder , and for
soil conservation . The seeds (jumbie beans) can be used as beads. Leucaena planted for
firewood on an area of 120 km2 (46 sq mi) will yield an energy equivalent of 1 million
barrels of oil per year.
Anthelmintic
medicines are made from extracts of Leucaena seeds in
Sumatra ,
Indonesia .
[5]
Some species (namely
Leucaena leucocephala ) have edible
fruits (as unripe) and
seeds . The seeds of
Leucaena esculenta (in Mexico called guaje or huaje ) are eaten with
salt in
Mexico . In other species high levels of
mimosine may lead to
hair loss and
infertility in non-
ruminants .
[5]
24 species are accepted:
[1]
Leucaena collinsii
Britton &
Rose – Collins leadtree (Southern
Mexico )
[7]
[8]
Leucaena confertiflora Zárate
Leucaena cruziana Britton & Rose
Leucaena cuspidata
Standl. (Mexico)
Leucaena diversifolia (
Schltdl. )
Benth. – Diverseleaf leadtree (Southern Mexico,
Central America )
[8]
Leucaena esculenta (
DC. ) Benth. – Esculent leadtree
[8] (Mexican highlands)
[7]
Leucaena greggii
S.Watson (Mexico)
Leucaena involucrata Zárate (Mexico)
Leucaena lanceolata S.Watson (Western Mexico)
[7]
Leucaena lempirana C.E.Hughes (
Honduras )
Leucaena leucocephala (
Lam. )
de Wit – White leadtree (Southern Mexico,
Belize ,
Guatemala )
Leucaena macrophylla Benth. – Bigleaf Leucaena
[8] (Lowland Mexico)
[7]
Leucaena magnifica (C.E.Hughes) C.E.Hughes (Guatemala)
Leucaena matudae (Zárate) C.E.Hughes (Mexico)
Leucaena multicapitula Schery
Leucaena pallida Britton & Rose
Leucaena pueblana
Britton &
Rose (Mexico)
Leucaena pulverulenta (Schltdl.) Benth. – Great leadtree (Southern
Texas , Northeastern Mexico).
[7] It's known in Mexico as "tepeguaje" or "tepehuaje"
Leucaena retusa Benth. – Littleaf leadtree (Western Texas, Northern Mexico)
[7]
Leucaena salvadorensis
Standl. ex Britton & Rose (
El Salvador , Honduras,
Nicaragua )
Leucaena shannonii
Donn.Sm. – Shannon leadtree
[8] (Southern Mexico, Central America)
[7]
Leucaena trichandra (Zucc.)
Urb. – Hairystamen leadtree (Southern Mexico, Central America)
[8]
Leucaena trichodes (Jacq.) Benth. – Hairy leadtree (Southern Central America, Northwestern South America,
Hispaniola )
[8]
[9]
[10]
Leucaena zacapana (C.E.Hughes) R.Govind. & C.E.Hughes
^
a
b
c
Leucaena Benth.
Plants of the World Online . Retrieved 4 September 2023.
^
"Leucaena Benth" . TROPICOS . Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved 2010-03-23 .
^
"Leucaena Benth" . Germplasm Resources Information Network . United States Department of Agriculture. 2007-10-05. Retrieved 2010-03-23 .
^
"Leucaena " .
Integrated Taxonomic Information System . Retrieved 23 March 2010 .
^
a
b
c Mabberley, D.J. (1997).
The Plant-Book: A portable dictionary of the vascular plants (2nd ed.). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. p.
406 .
ISBN
978-0-521-41421-0 .
^ Glen, Hugh (2004).
Sappi What's in a Name? . Jacana Media. p. 39.
ISBN
978-1-77009-040-8 .
^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g Nugent, Jeff; Julia Boniface (2004).
Permaculture Plants: A Selection (2nd ed.). Chelsea Green Publishing. pp. 24–26.
ISBN
978-1-85623-029-2 .
^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g Grandtner, Miroslav M. (2005).
Elsevier's Dictionary of Trees . Vol. 1. Elsevier. pp. 473–475.
ISBN
978-0-444-51784-5 .
^
a
b
"Species Records of Leucaena " . Germplasm Resources Information Network . United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2010-11-23 .
^ Barstow, M. (2020).
"Leucaena trichodes " .
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020 : e.T62026291A62026298.
doi :
10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-1.RLTS.T62026291A62026298.en . Retrieved 9 April 2021 .
^ Hartman, T. P. V; J. Jones; N. W. Blackhall; J. B. Power; E. C. Cocking; M. R. Davey (2000). Helmut Guttenberger (ed.).
"Cytogenetics, Molecular Cytogenetics, and Genome Size in Leucaena (Leguminosae , Mimosoideae )" . Cytogenetic Studies of Forest Trees and Shrubs: Review, Present Status, and Outlook on the Future: Proceedings of the Second IUFRO Cytogenetics Working Party S2.04.08 Symposium, September 6–12, 1998, Graz, Austria : 57–70.
ISBN
9788096708888 .