Gliricidia sepium

Gliricidia sepium, often simply referred to as Gliricidia; wetahiriya in Sinhala, is a medium size leguminous tree belonging to the family Fabaceae. In many of these areas it is considered to be the second most important multi-purpose legume tree, surpassed only by Leucaena leucocephala.

Scientific name:Gliricidia sepium
Family:Fabaceae
Kingdom:Plantae
Rank:Species
Higher classification:Gliricidia
Order:Fabales
UsesFodder/Intercropping/Soil stabilization/Shade trees/Other

Description

Gliricidia sepium is a medium-sized tree that grows 10–12 m (33–39 ft) high. The bark is smooth, and its color can range from a whitish gray to deep red-brown.

The flowers are located on the end of branches that have no leaves. These flowers have a bright pink to lilac color that is tinged with white. A pale yellow spot is usually at the flower's base.

The tree's fruit is a pod about 10–15 cm (4–6 in) long. It is green when unripe and becomes yellow-brown when it reaches maturity. The pod produces four to ten round brown seeds.

G. sepium is native to tropical dry forests in Mexico and Central America. In addition to its native range it is cultivated in many tropical and subtropical regions, including the Caribbean, northern parts of South America, central Africa, parts of India,parts of Sri Lanka, parts of Myanmar and Southeast Asia.

The tree grows well in acidic soils with a pH of 4.5-6.2. The tree is found on volcanic soils in its native range in Central America and Mexico. However, it can also grow on sandy, clay, and limestone soils.