Leucaena leucocephala (Lamk.) de Wit

Type
Exotic
Family
Leguminosae
Synonym
Leucaena gluca (Willd.) Benth.
Common Name
Subabul, Ipilpil
Origin
Tropical America
Botanical Features

Trees, to 9 m high; branchlets puberulous. Leaves bi-pinnate, alternate; stipules small, cauducous; rachis 12-22 cm, slender, pulvinate, puberulent; pinnae 4-6 pairs, 4-15 cm, even pinnate, a gland between the lowest pair or a little lower down on the petiole on the upper side; leaflets 16-40, opposite, subsessile; lamina 0.8-2 x 0.2-0.6 cm, obliquely oblong or obliquely-lanceolate, base obliquely truncate, apex acute or acuminate, margin entire, membranous, glabrous above, pubescent and glaucous beneath; lateral nerves and intercostae obscure. Flowers bisexual, greenish-white, in axillary umbels, globose, to 1.2 cm across solitary or 2-3 together; petals 5, free; stamens 10;ovary superior, shortly stipitate, puberulent; styles as long as ovary; stigma simple. Fruit a pod, 18-20 x 1.5-2.5 cm, linear-oblong, flat, dehiscent; seeds 15-20, brown, glossy.