Common Name:

General Information

Leucaena confertiflora is a small, often multi-stemmed, deciduous tree with an open, irregular, often spreading umbrella crown; it usually grows around 2 - 4 metres tall, occasionally reaching 6 metres. The bole is around 10 - 15cm in diameter[].
The plant is cultivated, encouraged and managed in the wild and also harvested on an intensive basis from wild populations for its edible seeds and seedpods. The pods are consumed locally and also sold in local markets[].
Leucaena confertiflora has a restricted distribution and is never locally abundant being susceptible to grazing pressure
and harvesting of pods from wild populations. Few natural populations are known and these are severely degraded. In a few villages trees are cultivated and protected circa situm on a small scale but the species is nevertheless vulnerable. The plant is classified as 'Vulnerable' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2013)[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

N. America - southern Mexico (Oaxaca, Puebla)

Habitat

An understorey shrub or small tree in dry oak or pine-oak forest and dry mattoral, always on shallow black soils over calcareous rock; at elevations from 1,750 - 2,500 metres[].

Properties

Conservation Status	Vulnerable
Edibility Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Deciduous Tree
Height	4.00 m
Growth Rate	Slow
Pollinators	Insects
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Semi-cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

Leucaena confertiflora is native to high, dry, inland hills and plateaux of southern Mexico, where it can experience regular moderate frosts for up to 3 monhs of the year. It experiences a mean annual rainfall in the range of 500 - 700mm, with a dry season of up to 7 months[].
Leucaena species generally require a sunny position. They are often found in the wild on poor, shallow and dry soils, usually overlying a calcareous rock. Most of them do not thrive on acid soils. Most species experience a long dry season and are more or less drought tolerant.
A slow-growing plant[].
The plant responds well to coppicing[, ].
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[].
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 seedpods - raw or cooked[]. The inear-oblong or oblong seedpods are deep maroon and slightly glossy unripe, turning dark reddish-brown when ripe. They are 90 - 150mm long and 16 - 26mm wide, containing 10 - 15 seeds, with 1 - 4(occasionally to 7) pods being produced per tlower head[].

Immature seed - raw or cooked[]. The immature green seeds are stripped from the pods and eaten raw, roasted, dried, in soups, stews etc[]. They have a unique, lingering, garlic-like flavour. 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[]. The seeds are 6 - 8mm long, 5 - 8 mm wide[]

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

This species is found at higher elevation (up to 2,500 metres) than any other member of the genus, and is also highly
psyllid-resistant. As a tetraploid it could prove useful as a parent in breeding programmes with other tetraploid species[].

Propagation

Seed - it has a hard seedcoat and may benefit from scarification before sowing in order to speed up germination. 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.
The seed retains its viability for a long period if stored under conditions of less than 10 % moisture content at less than 4°c in hermetically sealed containers[].

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