Common Name: Guaje

General Information

Leucaena esculenta is an evergreen or deciduous shrub or tree with an open, spreading, rounded crown; it can grow from 6 - 15 metres tall. The plant is typically multi-stemmed when young, older trees developing a short clear bole that can be 5 metres long and 20 - 70cm in diameter with a thick, corky bark[, ].
The tree is commonly harvested from the wild, protected and encouraged in the wild, and extensively cultivated as a food crop in Mexico. It provides edible seeds, whilst its leaves, flowerbuds and seedpods are the traditional green food of the indigenous peoples. The seeds etc are sold in local markets in Mexico[]. The tree also has local medicinal uses, yields a useful timber and is often grown to provide shade in coffee plantations. It is sometimes grown as an ornamental[].
Leucaena esculenta is widely distributed and extremely abundant both in natural populations and in indigenous cultivation. It is often the commonest tree in towns and villages in parts of Oaxaca, Puebla and Guerrero in Mexico. The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2013)[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Central America - Mexico.

Habitat

A canopy tree in seasonally dry, deciduous tropical forest and at higher elevations in oak, oak-juniper and juniper forest; at elevations from 600 - 1,800 metres, occasionally to 2,080 metres[].

Properties

Conservation Status	Least Concern
Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Semi-deciduous Tree
Height	10.00 m
Growth Rate	Fast
Pollinators	Insects
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Ornamental, Semi-cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

Guaje is a plant of the seasonally dry tropics, where it can be found at elevations from 400 - 2,000 metres. It grows in areas where the mean annual rainfall is within the range 800 - 1,300mm and can tolerate up to 7 months of dry season. Plants can tolerate occasional light frosts[].
Found in the wild mainly on well-drained calcareous soils that are often shallow and rocky[]. Established plants are moderately drought tolerant[].
A fast-growing tree[].
The unripe seedpods are harvested by climbing the trees and lopping the terminal branches or groups of pods, often crudely, with machetes, small knives or cutting poles. Annual pollarding in this way apparently causes only limited damage to the trees which resprout and fruit annually[].
The tree is highly resistant to Psyllid damage[].
This species is known to hybridize readily with Leucaena leucocephala glabrata where the two are brought together in
cultivation[].
This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[].

Edible Uses

Immature seeds - raw or cooked. The immature green seeds are stripped from the pods and eaten raw, roasted, dried, in soups, stews etc[, ]. Often eaten raw as a snack when working in the field, the seeds are also often used as a garnish on cooked foods or added to stews, mixed with beans and maize tortillas etc. After removal from the pods, the unripe seeds can be dried and stored for later use or ground into a flour and mixed with wheat, corn etc[].They have a unique, lingering, garlic-like flavour[]. The seeds can be ground into a paste and sun dried for long term storage[]. The seedpods turn red and open easily when the seeds are ready to eat[]. The circular to ovoid seeds are 9 - 11mm long and 7 - 9mm wide. There are 8,700 seeds/kg[].

Young pods, leaves and flower buds are eaten as greens[, ].
The seedpods are reddish maroon when unripe, turning mid orange-brown when ripe: they are 100 - 300mm long and 23-26mm wide, containing 15 - 20 seeds. There are 1 - 2 seedpods produced per flower head[].

Galls frequently develop on the leaves and pods[]. They can be eaten raw, roasted or boiled[, ].

Medicinal

The seeds are believed to have aphrodisiac powers[].

Agroforestry Uses:

The tree is used to provide shade, especially in coffee plantations[]. It fixes atmospheric nitrogen, whilst the lopped leaves and twigs can be used as a green manure[].
The tree is planted at field boundaries or as living fences, and is also widely incorporated in agroforestry cropping systems, growing with annuals or fruit crops beneath them[, ].
It is highly resistant to the psyllid (Heteropsylla cubana), and it has been used in breeding programmes[].

Other Uses

The wood is rarely used in Mexico because trees are protected for food production. However, non-seedy or seedless clones are attractive options for most of leucaena's wood uses, including pulpwood, roundwood, parquet, and craftwood[].
The wood makes a high quality fuel and is also used to make charcoal[, ].

Propagation

Seed - the seedcoat of this species is relatively soft and seeds usually germinate fairly well without treatment. However, scarification can improve germination rates and can be carried out prior to sowing[]. This can usually be done by pouring a small amount of nearly boiling water on the seeds (being careful not to cook them!) and then soaking them for 12 - 24 hours in warm water. By this time they should have imbibed moisture and swollen - if they have not, then carefully make a nick in the seedcoat (being careful not to damage the embryo) and soak for a further 12 hours before sowing. Because the seeds are quite large, seedlings usually grow away rapidly[].
Cuttings of semi-ripe wood.

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