Leucaena leucocephala (White leadtree)

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Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit

White leadtree, jumbie bean, jumbay, river tamarind, pearl wattle, ipil-ipil, tan-tan, white popinac, coffee bush, cow tamarind, miusina

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Rosidae	Roses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more
Order	Fabales	Legumes (pea and bean families)
Family	Fabaceae	Legume family (peas and beans)
Genus	Leucaena	New Latin, from Greek leukainein, “to make white, become white”; from leukos, “white”
Species	leucocephala	White or dusky-headed

About plant names...

White leadtree is native to northern Central America and southern Mexico. It has become naturalized throughout the tropics. It is considered one of the 100 worst invasive species, growing in dense thickets that crowd everything else out. Don’t even think about planting these! They prefer riparian zones (areas around rivers), but also thrive in roadsides, open woods, gardens, disturbed habitats, and coastal areas.

Plants: Shrubs or small trees, 6½-33' (2-10 m) high. Young stems are green and densely covered in fine grayish hairs. Older stems are smooth, gray or gray-brown, with multiple raise lenticles.

Leaves: bipinnate, up to 10" (25 cm) long. Each leaf has about 12 pairs of opposite, lanceolate leaflets ¼-⅜" (9-12 mm) × ¹/₁₆-⅛" (2-3.5 mm).

Flowers: Resembling fuzzy balls ¾" (1.9 cm) in diameter, flowers are white, aging to yellow and brown.

Fruits: Seed pods are dark brown, nearly flat, 3-9" (8-23 cm) long × ⅜-¾" (1-2 cm) wide, each containing about 20 seeds. Each seed is glossy brown, oval, flat, and ⅛" (6 mm) long.

Online References:

Keys.lucidcentral.org

The University of Florida IFAS Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants

Wikipedia

4/11/2015 · Loop Road, Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida
≈ 4½ × 6½' (1.4 × 2 m)

4/11/2015 · Loop Road, Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida
≈ 3½ × 5' (1 × 1.5 m)

4/13/2015 · Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center, Everglades National Park, Florida
≈ 8 × 5" (19 × 13 cm)

Leucaena leucocephala description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 5 Sep 2023.

4/13/2015 · Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center, Everglades National Park, Florida
≈ 8 × 5" (19 × 13 cm)

4/13/2015 · Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center, Everglades National Park, Florida
≈ 19 × 12" (47 × 31 cm)

4/11/2015 · Loop Road, Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida
≈ 21 × 14" (52 × 34 cm)

4/13/2015 · Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center, Everglades National Park, Florida
≈ 8 × 5" (19 × 13 cm)

4/13/2015 · Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center, Everglades National Park, Florida
≈ 12 × 8" (31 × 21 cm)

Range:

About this map...