Leucaena confertiflora

Botanical Description

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[ 1518 Title Leucaena A Genetic Resources Handbook Publication Tropical Forestry Papers No. 37 Author Hughes C.E. Website https://herbaria.plants.ox.ac.uk/bol/leucaena/ Publisher Oxford Forestry Institute; Oxford, UK Year 1998 ISBN 0 85074 145 9 Description An excellent guide to the genus, giving detailed information on the various species ]. 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[ 1518 Title Leucaena A Genetic Resources Handbook Publication Tropical Forestry Papers No. 37 Author Hughes C.E. Website https://herbaria.plants.ox.ac.uk/bol/leucaena/ Publisher Oxford Forestry Institute; Oxford, UK Year 1998 ISBN 0 85074 145 9 Description An excellent guide to the genus, giving detailed information on the various species ]. 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)[ 338 Title IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Publication Author Website http://www.iucnredlist.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat. ].