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Central QLD Coast Landcare Network

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Leucaena

Leucaena leucocephala subsp. leucocephala, Fam. Mimosaceae


Large shrub or small tree to 6m

Weed Category: Locally Declared Plants
Under the Local Law provision of the Local Government Act 1993, Local Government may declare a weed specifically for their Council area and enforce their control.
Weed: Yes
Form or habit: Shrub, Small tree
Family: Mimosaceae
Leaf: Compound Alternate
Compound, alternate bipinnate, 45-190mm long, with 3-9 pairs of pinnae, each with numerous pairs of small dull greyish-green leaflets, 5-15 x1-5mm; minute hairs along the margin visible with a lens.
Flower conspicuous: Conspicuous
Flower colour:

White, Cream

Flower description: Fluffy pale creamy white, in dense globular heads, 8-15mm in diameter; borne on axillary or terminal racemes.
Fruit conspicuous: Conspicuous
Fruit colour:

Brown

Fruit: Dry
Fruit description: Pods brown flattened minutely hairy, 55-170 x 15-20mm, in dense clusters and containing 8-24 glossy brown seeds, 5-9mm long.
Habitat:
Distribution
Food source for:
Toxicity: No toxicity known
Origin: Central America
Notes: Spread by: pods and seed spread by wind and water; in contaminated soil, forest mulch and garden waste. Invades/threats: roadsides, creek banks, mangrove and rainforest margins. Forms dense thickets, hindering the movement of wildlife and excluding all other plants. Notes: an aggressive, widespread and abundant environmental weed in this region. Seeds are long lived and highly viable. A different subspecies, L. leucacephala subsp. glabrata, is grown as a productive and highly nutritious fodder legume by the grazing industry. This subspeices has hairless new growth, and recently realised cultivars are less prolific seed producers.
Information sources: Mackay Regional Pest Management Group (2018) Weeds of the Mackay Whitsunday Region Second Edition.

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