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Lysiloma latisiliquum
Fabaceae FAMILY

Lysiloma latisiliquum

Lysiloma latisiliquum

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitDeciduous Tree
GrowthMedium

Plants are intolerant of frost[1]. Succeeds in full sun or partial shade[1]. It is found in the wild predominantly on coastal dunes and limestone soils, though it can grow in most soil types, so long as they are well-drained[1, 2]. Succeeds in saline soils and is tolerant of salt-laden winds[1]. Established plants are very drought tolerant[1]. 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+latisiliquum>

Pollinators

Insects

References

  1. [1]Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida — University of Florida · http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/shrubs/ ↩︎PDF fact sheets on over 500 shrubs.
  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]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.
  5. [5]The Woods of the United States — Sargent C.S. · D. Appleton & Co.; New York · 1885 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎Contains information on the woods of a large number of N. American species of trees and shrubs. 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]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/
  8. [8]Silk Tree, Guanacaste, monkey's Earing: a generic system for the synandrous Mimosaceae of the Americas — Barneby R.C. · The New York Botanical Garden; New York · 1996 · ISBN 0-89327-395-3 ↩︎A detailed treatment of several genera of the Mimosaceae found in N. America and the Caribbean
  9. [9]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
  10. [10]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.
  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.