Leucaena
leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit
(Petai Cina)
Picture. 13 Leucaena leucocephala
(Hidayat & Abdurrahman, 2017)
Classification
Kingdom :
Plantae
Divisi : Magnoliophyta
Class : Magnoliopsida
Order :
Fabales
Family :
Fabaceae
Genus :
Leucaena
Species :
Leucaena leucocephala
Other Scientific Names
·
Acacia
frondosa Willd.
·
Acacia
glauca (L.) Willd.
·
Acacia
leucocephala (Lam.) Link
·
Acacia
leucophala Link
·
Leucaena
glabra Benth.
·
Leucaena
glauca Benth.
·
Leucaena
latisiliqua (L.) Gillis
·
Mimosa
leucocephala Lam
·
Mimosa
leucophala Lam.
Description
A small tree, commonly reaching 3-15 m
tall and 10-35 cm in bole diameter; and older trees may reach 20 m tall and 50
cm in diameter. Form varies from shrubby and highly branched in subsp.
leucocephala to arborescent with a short clear bole to 5 m, upright angular
branching and an open, rounded crown in subsp. glabrata. Bark is mid grey-brown
with shallow rusty orange-brown vertical fissures; slash reddish. Leaves
bipinnate with 4-9 pairs of pinnae per leaf and 13-21 pairs of leaflets per
pinna. The leaflets are small, 9-21 mm long, 2-4.5 mm wide, linear-oblong or
weakly elliptic, acute at the tip, rounded to obtuse at the base and glabrous
except on margins, with a concave, cup-shaped, elliptic petiole gland. Flowers
arranged on compact globose heads, the flower heads in groups of 2-6 in leaf
axils arising on actively growing young shoots, the leaves developing
simultaneously with the flowers, the heads 12-21 mm in diameter with 100-180
flowers per head, the flowers white. Hairy anthers (visible with a hand lens)
distinguish Leucaena from all other mimosoid legume genera. Pods are 9-19 cm
long, 13-21 mm wide, linear-oblong and flat with papery pod walls, mid- to
orange-brown, glabrous and slightly lustrous (subsp. glabrata and subsp.
ixtahuacana), or densely covered in white velvety hairs (subsp. leucocephala),
arranged in clusters of 3-20, and occasionally up to 45, per flower head (Cabi, 2019).
Spot
Character
Inflorescences like a “head” with white
in color (Latin: Leucocephala)
Distribution
Central America, Spain, Philippine,
Australia.
Benefit
Edible plant
Location
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