Leucaena trichandra

Cultivation Details

Leucaena trichandra is a plant of moderate elevations in the tropics, where it is found from 700 - 2,000 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 17 - 22°c, but can tolerate 12 - 28°c^[1]. It does not tolerate frost according to one report^[2], whilst another says that when dormant, the plant can survive temperatures down to about -1°c^[1]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,000 - 1,800mm, but tolerates 700 - 2,500mm^[1]. Grows well in full sun, though it is likely to be fairly tolerant of shade^[1]. Prefers a moderately fertile soil of medium to heavy texture^[1]. Found in the wild in a wide range of soils from shallow calcareous over limestone to shallow infertile more acidic soils, being found in part of its range on thin, heavily leached, nutrient-poor acidic lithosols developed from volcanic tuff^[2]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 7.5, tolerating 5 - 8^[1]. The plant can escape from cultivation and become a weed^[1]. 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^[2]. The tree responds well to coppicing^[3]. This is an extremely variable species that has sometimes been treated as several distinct species^[2]. Seed sources from southeast Guatemala are known to be superior in growth and in resistance to psyllid damage^[2]. 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^[3].