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Lead Tree

Learn about the lead tree, a shrub or small tree native to Mexico and Central America. Discover its economic uses, distribution, impacts, and management strategies to prevent its spread in Florida.

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Lead Tree

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  1. Lead Tree Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) Fabaceae

  2. Biology • Also known as leucaena • Shrub or small tree < 20 feet tall • Native to Mexico and Central America • Used for fuel wood, timber • Animal fodder • Windbreaks and shade • Legume plant - capable of fixing nitrogen

  3. Background Economic Uses • Introduced to Florida for animal fodder and erosion control

  4. Distribution • Found throughout much of south and west Florida, Miami-Dade, Monroe counties • Also found in Florida Keys • Commonly found along roadways and disturbed areas, forest edges, coastal strands

  5. Lead Tree Distribution in Florida

  6. Impacts • Category II invasive species (FLEPPC) • Limited spread into undisturbed sites • Forms dense thickets, displacing native vegetation • Multiple shoots form when cut back, responds favorably to fire

  7. Identification

  8. Mature Plant • Shrub to small tree 15 to 20 feet in height • Grows in dense thickets • Multiple shoots • Multiple plants

  9. Leaves • Alternately arranged • Bipinnate compound • 6 to 20 inches long • 12 to 15 leaflet pairs per branch • Leaf arrangement gives mimosa fern-like or feathery appearance

  10. Flowers & Seed Pods • Flowers clustered on ends of branches • Seed pods flat & green, turning brown at maturity • 20 seed/pod, glossy brown, oval and flat

  11. Management Preventative Cultural Mechanical Biological Chemical

  12. Preventative • Limit planting as a forage or utility crop • Remove existing plants, including resprouts and before seeds are produced • Avoid use of possibly contaminated mulch with lead tree seeds • Prevent seed spread and dispersal • Rouge out trees in abandoned areas

  13. Cultural • Alternative forage and erosion control plants to replace lead tree • Programs to educate ranchers about the problems associated with lead tree and proper identification • Maintain good ground cover and mixture of plant species to reduce establishment

  14. Biological • Managed grazing by cattle to prevent seed formation is effective

  15. Mechanical • Hand pull young seedlings, including all roots, repeated pulling for resprouts • Cut tree down at ground level • Girdling is effective for large trees • Cut through bark approximately 6 inches above the ground, encircling tree base • Mowing is effective on small saplings and resprouts, but must be repeated

  16. Chemical - Foliar • Over-the-top applications for seedlings, resprouts and small trees • Thoroughly wet leaves with herbicide • Triclopyr – 2% solution • Glyphosate – 2 to 3% solution • Clopyralid - 0.2 to 0.4% solution • Use surfactant at 0.25% • Best results applied July to October

  17. Chemical - Basal • Individual trees, near desirable species • Use 25% triclopyr solution with basal oil • Apply 12 to 15 inches above ground on tree trunk • Wet thoroughly for good control, spray until run-off is noticeable at ground line

  18. Chemical – Cut Stump • Individual trees, near desirable species • Cut trunks/stems horizonally at or near ground level • Apply 25% solution of glyphosate or triclopyr • Cover the outer 20% of the stump • Marker (blue) dye is helpful

  19. Useful Links • Floridata Homepage: http://www.floridata.com • University of Florida Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants: http://aquat1.ifas.ufl.edu/welcome.html • University of Florida’s Cooperative Extension Electronic Data Information Source: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/index.html

  20. Useful Links • The Plant Conservation Alliance's Alien Plant Working Group. Weeds Gone Wild: Alien Plant Invaders of Natural Areas: http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/index.htm • Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER). Plant Threats to Pacific Ecosystems: http://www.hear.org/pier/threats.htm • USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Plants Database: http://plants.usda.gov.

  21. Literature Cited Langeland, K.A. and K. Craddock Burks. 1998. Identification and Biology of Non-Native Plants in Florida's Natural Areas. IFAS Publication SP 257. University of Florida, Gainesville. 165 pp

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