Mother-of-cacao
Gliricidia sepium

Family: Fabaceae

What it is like

An evergreen shrub or tree. It grows to 10 m high and spreads to 3 m across. The crown is irregular. The bark is grey. The stem is erect and branching. The young branches are hairy. The leaves are compound with 8 to 14 leaflets. These are 7 cm long and 3 cm wide. They come to a blunt tip at the top end and are rounded at the base. The flowers are pink and yellow in the centre with a green stripe. They are pea shaped. The flowers occur in 10 cm long clusters. They are produced on older twigs. The fruit is a woody pod 15 cm long and up to 2 cm wide. The seeds are purplish brown and round. They are 1 cm long and 9 mm wide.

There are about 6 Gliricidia species. They grow in tropical America. The seeds are used as rat poison. Also as Papilionaceae.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows best in warm, seasonally dry climates. It occurs in areas with 900-1500 mm annual rainfall. It grows between sea level and 1200 m altitude. It suits areas with a mean annual temperature of 20-27°C. It does best with light well composted soil. The soil needs to be well drained. It needs a protected sunny position. It is damaged by drought and frost. It grows with soil pH between 5.0-8.5. It suits hardiness zones 10-12. In XTBG Yunnan.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Antigua and Barbuda, Antilles, Argentina, Aruba, Asia, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bhutan, Bolivia, Brazil, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Caribbean, Central Africa, Central America, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, East Africa, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, Fiji, French Guiana, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guam, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guianas, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Hawaii, Himalayas, Honduras, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Laos, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Marquesas, Martinique, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico (country/location of origin), Micronesia, Montserrat, Mozambique, Myanmar, Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, North America, Pacific, Pakistan, Palau, Pan tropical, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Reunion, Sahel, Samoa, SE Asia, Seychelles, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Southern Africa, South America, Sri Lanka, St. Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and Grenadines, Suriname, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Uganda, Uruguay, USA, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Virgin Islands, West Africa, West Indies, Zimbabwe

How it is used for food

The leaves have been reported as being eaten. They are used in a fish dish. The flowers are cooked as potherbs and also folded into an egg batter and fried. CAUTION: They are also reported as poisonous. Leaves are used to kill rats. As all parts are poisonous it is probably better not to eat any part.

Plants are used as shade for coffee in the lowlands.

Edible parts

Leaves, flowers, vegetable, caution

How it is grown

Plants are grown from seed. The seed needs treatment to help it to start growing. Plants are easy to grow from large cuttings or mature wood. The cuttings should be 4.7 cm long.

Its other names

Local names

Balo, Bien vestido, Cacahuananche, Cacaonance, Chuchunuc, Cocohuite, Gamal, Kakawate, Kakawati, Kante, Khae-farang, Madero negro, Madre de cafe, Madre, Madreado, Madrecacao, Madrecaco, Madre de cacao, Madrial, Malthass, Mata raton, Mexican lilac, Nicaraguan cacao-shade, Nicaraguan shade tree, Pohon gamal, Quick stick, Spotted gliricidia, Thinbaw-ngusat, Tropical flowering cherry, Xab-yaab

Synonyms

Galedupa pungam Blanco; Gliricidia lambii Fernald; Gliricidia maculata var. multijuga Micheli; Gliricidia maculate (Kunth.) Walp.; Lonchocarpus maculates (Kunth.) DC.; Lonchocarpus roseus (Miller) DC.; Lochocarpus sepium (Jacq.) DC.; Millettia luzonensis A. Gray; Millettia splendidissima snesu Naves; Robinia hispida L.; Robinia maculate Kunth.; Robinia rosea Miller; Robinia sepium Jacq.; Robinia variegata Schltdl.;