Eden

Penang Botanic Gardens Plant Collection

Gliricidia sepium (Jacq.) Walp. (FABACEAE)

Posted at — Nov 13, 2019
Mexican Lilac, Mother of Cocoa

Description

Small deciduous tree to 12 m tall with irregularly spreading crown. Leaves 15-35 cm long, with 5-8 pairs of opposite leaflets and a terminal leaflet. Flowers c. 2 cm long, pale pink or lilac with yellow patch at base. Fruit 10-18 cm long, narrowly elliptic, flattened.

Ecology

Secondary lowland forest and on disturbed sites.

Distribution

Central America; Costa Rica, north to Mexico.

Uses

Often planted as a village tree, sometimes planted as a living fence. In cocoa plantations, it is planted to provide partial shade to the cocoa bush.