White popinac, Wild tamarind, Leadtree

Description:

Leucaena leucocephala is a small, variably shrubby and highly branched (ssp. leucocephala) to medium-sized tree with a short, clear bole to 5 m, upright angular branching and a narrow open crown (ssp. glabrata), 3-15 (max. 20) m tall, bole diameter 10-50 cm. Bark on young branches smooth, grey-brown, slash salmon pink, darker grey-brown and rougher with shallow, rusty orange-brown vertical fissures and deep red inner bark on older branches and bole. This evergreen plant is deep rooted. It often has a combination of flowers, immature and mature pods all present on the tree at the same time. Leaves with (min. 4) 6-9 pairs pinnae; pinnular rachis 5-10.2 cm long, leaflets 9-16 (max. 21) mm long, 2-4.5 mm wide, 13-21 pairs per pinna, slightly asymmetric, linear-oblong to weakly elliptic, acute at tip, rounded to obtuse at base, glabrous except on margins. Leaves and leaflets fold up with heat, cold or lack of water. Flower heads 12-21 mm in diameter, 100-180 flowers per head, in groups of 2-6 in leaf axils, arising on actively growing young shoots, flowers white or pale cream-white. Pods (min. 9) 11-19 cm long, (min. 13) 15-21 mm wide, (min. 3) 5-20 (max. 45) per flower head, linear-oblong, acute or rounded at apex, flat, 8-18 seeded, mid- to orange-brown, glabrous and slightly lustrous or densely covered in white velvety hairs, papery, opening along both margins. Seeds hard, dark brown with a hard, shining testa, 6.7-9.6 mm long, 4-6.3 mm wide, aligned transversely in pod. The specific name ‘leucocephala’ comes from ‘leu’, meaning white, and ‘cephala’, meaning head, referring to the flowers. There are 3 recognized subspecies: ssp. leucocephala, ssp. glabrata (Rose) S. Zárate, and ssp. ixtahuacana C. E. Hughes.

Habitat:

L. leucocephala is essentially a tropical species requiring warm temperatures for optimum growth and with poor cold tolerance and significantly reduced growth during cool winter months in subtropical areas. For optimal growth it is therefore limited to areas 15-25 deg. north or south of the equator. L. leucocephala sheds its leaves even with light frosts, and heavy frost kills all above-ground growth, although trees often sprout the following summer. It grows well only in subhumid or humid climates with moderate dry seasons of up to 6-7 months. It thrives under irrigation regimes similar to those applied to maize (i.e. over 1200 mm/year). L. leucocephala tolerates fast fires and can regrow after being burned to the crown by slower fires. L. leucocephala ssp. leucocephala is an aggressive colonizer of ruderal sites and secondary or disturbed vegetation in many places, both in Mexico and in many parts of Asia such as the Philippines. This has been attributed to its precocious year-round flowering and fruiting, abundant seed production, self-fertility, hard seed coat, and ability to resprout after fire or cutting. It is now naturalized and weedy in many areas such as open (often coastal) habitats, semi-natural, disturbed, degraded habitats, other ruderal sites, and occasionally, agricultural land where it has been planted as a shade tree over cacao.

Notes:

In Thailand this plant called "Krathin", and it can use in cooking, very delicious ! I found it near my house.