During the 1970s and 1980s,
Leucaena leucocephala was promoted as a "miracle tree" for its multiple uses. and
Thailand), most importantly as a source of quality animal feed, but also for residual use for firewood or
charcoal production.
Culinary The young pods are edible and occasionally eaten in
Javanese vegetable salad with spicy peanut sauce, and
spicy fish wrapped in papaya or taro leaves in Indonesia, and in
papaya salad in
Laos In Mexico it is eaten in soups and also inside tacos, it is known as
guaje. Cooking is thought to remove most of the poison.
Forage and fodder The legume provides an excellent source of high-protein cattle fodder. However, the fodder contains
mimosine, a toxic amino acid. Horses and donkeys which are fed it lose their hair. In many cases this acid is metabolized by ruminants to goitrogenic DHP [3-hydroxy-4(1H) pyridone] in the
rumen, but in some geographical areas, ruminants lack the organisms (such as
Synergistes jonesii) that can degrade DHP. In such cases, toxicity problems from ingestion of
Leucaena have sometimes been overcome by infusing susceptible animals with rumen fluid from ruminants that possess such organisms, and more recently by
inoculating cattle
rumina with such organisms cultured in vitro. Such measures have facilitated
Leucaena use for fodder in Australia and elsewhere. It is also efficient in
nitrogen fixation, at more than 500 kg/ha/year. It has a very fast growth rate: young trees reach a height of more than in two to three years.
Pulpwood for paper industry The wood of
Leucaena leucocephala is used for making pulp in the
pulp and paper industry. In the southern and central states of India, it is the most important pulpwood species for making pulp. It has huge positive socio-economic impact on the livelihood of the small farmers where
Leucaena leucocephala is grown as an industrial crop. This provides an alternative crop to the farmers of
Andhra Pradesh and
Telangana, where they are also growing cotton and chillies.
Potential as bioherbicidal agent Leucaena leucocephala is an
allelopathic tree. Phytotoxic allelochemicals, such as
mimosine and certain phenolic compounds, including
p-hydroxycinnamic acid,
protocatechuic acid, and
gallic acid, have been identified in the leaves of the species. Bioherbicidal activity of
L. leucocephala on terrestrial plants and aquatic weed
water hyacinth were reported. ==In culture==