PlantPeers
Back to Catalog
Lysiloma divaricatum
Fabaceae FAMILY

Lysiloma divaricatum

Lysiloma divaricatum

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitDeciduous Tree
Growth—

Lysiloma divaricatum is a plant of moist to semi-arid regions of the tropics, where it is found at low to medium elevations. Succeeds on a range of soil types[1]. It is found in the wild on volcanic soils and sandy clays[2]. The flowers are sweetly scented[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].

Propagation

Seed - Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Lysiloma+divaricatum>

Pollinators

Insects

References

  1. [1]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  2. [2]Lysiloma (Leguminosae: Mimosoideae) in Mesoamerica — Gale S.W. & Pennington T.D. · 2004 ↩︎An excellent review of the Mesoamerican species of Lysiloma with complete botanical descriptions, range, habitats and uses.
  3. [3]Nodulation Plants in GRIN Taxonomy — United States Department of Agriculture · http://www.ars-grin.gov/~sbmljw/cgi-bin/taxnodul.pl?language=en ↩︎An online database listing plants that have either positive or negative reports on root and stem nodulation with nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
  4. [4]Flora of Guatemala — Standley P.C. & J. A. Steyermark · 1946 - 1976 · http://www.archive.org/ ↩︎A superb reference, though somewhat dated. Gives lots of plant uses as well as information on plant habit and habitat. The entire flora (13 volumes) can now be downloaded from http://www.archive.org/
  5. [5]Trees and Shrubs of Mexico — Standley P.C. · Smithsonian Institution; Washington · 1926 ↩︎Although dated, it contains a wealth of information on the trees and shrubs of Mexico, including many of their uses. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
  6. [6]The Leguminosae; A Source Book of Characteristics, Uses and Nodulation — Allen O.N.; Allen E.K. · University of Wisconsin · 1981 · ISBN 0-333-32221-5 ↩︎An amazing and comprehensive work, giving a brief guide to the many genera of the family Fabaceae and also the principle uses of the genus.
  7. [7]The Warihio Indians of Sonora-Chihuahua; An Ethnographic Survey (Anthropological Papers, No. 65) — Gentry H.S. · Smithsonian Institution · 1963 ↩︎An excellent study
  8. [8]Biblioteca Digital de la Medicina Tradicional Mexicana — http://www.medicinatradicionalmexicana.unam.mx/index.php ↩︎A very valuable on-line resource with detailed information on many hundreds of medicinal plants used in Mexico
  9. [9]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  10. [10]Rio Mayo Plants - A study of the flora and vegetation of the valley of the Rio Mayo, Sonora — Gentry H.S. · Carnegie Institution of Washington; Washington DC · 1942 ↩︎One of my favourite authors on native plants, often including their uses. This is an excellent example with lots of information, even though the book is 80 years old.
  11. [11]Tropical Timbers of the World. Ag. Handbook No. 607. — Chudnoff. Martin. · USDA Forest Service. Wisconsin. · 1984 ↩︎Terse details on the properties of the wood of almost 400 species of trees from the Tropics.