Common name: Lead Tree, Coffee Bush
Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit APNI* Synonyms: Leucaena leucocephala subsp. glabrata (Rose) Zárate APNI*
Description: Tree 2–8 m high, youngest branches finely hairy.
Leaves bipinnate with 2–6 pairs of pinnae; rachis 6–14 cm long; rachis of pinnae 2–10 cm long; pinnules 5–20 pairs per pinna, oblong to lanceolate, 7–15 mm long, 1.5–4 mm wide, apex acute, base asymmetric, glabrous; petiole 2–5 cm long.
Heads 15–20 mm diam.; peduncle 2–4 cm long. Flowers green to creamy-white. Stamens 6–8 mm long.
Pod broad-linear, usually 8–18 cm long, 10–20 mm wide, flat, glabrous, brown; stipe 20–30 mm long; seeds 10–25.
Flowering: summer.
Distribution and occurrence: Sometimes cultivated, occasionally naturalized; north from Casino district, also recorded at Windsor .Native of Mexico; widely naturalised in tropics and subtropics.NC CC; Qld, N.T.[includes L. leucacephala subsp leucacephala and subsp. glabrata (Rose) Zarate]
NSW subdivisions: *NC, *CC
Other Australian states: *Qld *W.A. *N.T.
Two subspecies have been recognized, they both appear to occur in Aust., however they are not recognized in this treatment. Many of the characters overlap and they intergrade where the 2 taxa grow together in Mexico
Text by L. Murray
Taxon concept: R.S. Cowan (1998)
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data
***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
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