Kauaʻi record · kba_plant_leucaena_leucocephala
Leadtree
Leucaena leucocephala
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About Leadtree
Leucaena leucocephala is a tropical American nitrogen-fixing tree widely introduced for forage, shade, and revegetation. It forms persistent seed banks and dense stands on disturbed dry ground, roadsides, and coastal lowlands, where it can obstruct recovery of native dry forest. Kauaʻi botanical records document the species, supporting established introduced presence rather than an unresolved occurrence label. Bishop Museum’s 2025 checklist documents naturalized presence on Kauaʻi; current extent remains unassessed.
Kauaʻi evidence
Bishop Museum 2025 Checklist wide: Taxon=Leucaena leucocephala subsp. leucocephala; Status=nat; K=K. Identification and ecological statements have the separately linked reviewed sources. The checklist establishes documented island presence; it does not establish current abundance or invasion extent.
Names and classification
- Scientific name
- Leucaena leucocephala
- Common names
- Leadtree · Leucaena
- Hawaiian names
- Koa haole
- Other names
- Koa haole · white leadtree · Leadtree · tantan · Leucaena glauca · Leucaena leucocephala · Leucaena
- Family
- Fabaceae
- Order
- Fabales
- Record type
- Species or taxonomic group
Kauaʻi occurrence and status
- Kauaʻi occurrence
- Recorded on Kauaʻi
- Origin
- Introduced
- Conservation status
- Conservation priority; formal rank not listed
- Evidence date
- 2026-10-05
- Evidence limits
- Current extent and population trajectory require refreshed surveys; public occurrence is island level only.
Habitat and ecology
- Habitats
- Dry lowlands · Roadsides · Disturbed shrublands
- Food and resource needs
- Light, water, nutrients, and suitable soil or substrate
- Reproduction
- Viable propagules and suitable establishment conditions
- Shelter
- Suitable soil, substrate, and vegetation structure
- Growth form
- Tree shrub
Threats and conservation
- Threats
- Dryland invasive shrub pressure
- Conservation actions
- Control seed sources, restore native dryland shrubs
- Monitoring
- Control seed sources, restore native dryland shrubs
- Data gaps
- Additional ecological and conservation citations are recommended
Process and seasonal context
- Seasonal timing
- Not assessed
- Seasonal description
- Leucaena leucocephala is a tropical American nitrogen-fixing tree widely introduced for forage, shade, and revegetation. It forms persistent seed banks and dense stands on disturbed dry ground, roadsides, and coastal lowlands, where it can obstruct recovery of native dry forest. Kauaʻi botanical records document the species, supporting established introduced presence rather than an unresolved occurrence label. Bishop Museum’s 2025 checklist documents naturalized presence on Kauaʻi; current extent remains unassessed.
