⚠️IUCN Conservation Status
NOT EXTINCT
🌳Names of the Tree
Vernacular Name/s: Gliricidia Sepium, Madre De Cacao, Mexican Lilac
Scientific Name: Madre De Cacao
Family Name: Fabaceae (Leguminosae)
📜Details
Average Height: 10-12 Meters
Average Length of Leaves: 2-7 Centimeters
Timber Classification: Multi-purpose Legume Tree
USDA Hardiness Rating: 10-12
Propagation: Seed or Cutting
Where to Find: Gliricidia sepium's true native range is limited to the dry and sub-humid lowlands along the Pacific coasts of Mexico and Central America and nearby dry inland valleys. Other regions of Central America were colonized by native Americans who domesticated the species. It was brought by the Spanish to the Philippines and the Caribbean. Gliricidia has spread widely throughout the tropics in recent decades.
Uses: The most prevalent species of the living fence in the tropics may be Gliricidia sepium. Large stakes are used to build fence posts (see Propagation). They could be spaced 1 to 2 meters apart and connected with bamboo or barbed wire. Alternately, they could be planted as a stockade with their branches intertwined, spaced 10 to 20 cm apart (Stewart 1996). Fences can be used to harvest green manure, fodder, fuelwood, and stakes. The wood is dense and strong, with a specific gravity ranging from 0.5 to 0.8. It has a calorific value of 4,900 kcal/kg and is a good fuel, burning cleanly and without sparks. Gliricidia woodlots, secondary forests, and natural stands have all been managed for the purpose of producing commercial fuel (Glover 1989, Stewart 1996). The wood is also used for poles, timber, furniture, and agricultural implements.
Notable Features: Gliricidia sepium has a medium-sized crown, grows to a height of 2–15 m, and has may have one or more stems. The bark colour is variable but is mainly Greyish-brown in color and prone to fissures. The tree has deep roots when mature.
Habit of Matured Tree
Fruit
Leaf
Phyllotaxy
Some Facts
Fast-growing, nitrogen-fixing gliricidia sepium, also known as "gliricidia," is a shrub that is native to El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, and the United States of America but is an exotic species in Kenya. Gliricidia produces excellent biomass, including leaf and wood. Thus, it offers homes both firewood (including charcoal) and animal and poultry feed. The feed contains a lot of nitrogen. Being both a good nitrogen fixer and a good nutrient recycler, it is an excellent soil enhancer. This results in a nearly 2- to 3-fold increase in soil fertility and crop yields without the use of fertilizer.