Gliricidia, Mother of cocoa, Quick stick (Honey bee plants of Hawaii, United States)

Gliricidia, Mother of cocoa, Quick stick

Gliricidia sepium

Summary ⁶

Pollen: not good Nectar: some

This tree is notable for its early blooming, the masses of its pale pink flowers
beginning to appear soon after Christmas. They go on more or less continuously through April. The effect of a blossoming tree, which usually is bare of foliage, is rather like that of an apple or peach tree, but individually, each flower is like a small, pink sweetpea. They grow on short flowering branches and are scentless. Many pods, which hang on the tree for along time, follow the flowers. While the tree is often bare when is bloom, the old foliage may have remained, or the new made its appearance. The leaves are compound, with ten or eleven leaflets. The tree grows to about twenty-five feet and when not in flower is rather undistingusied in appearance. (Kuck, L. E., & Tongg, R. C. (1965). Hawaiian flowers & flowering trees)

Pink flowers bloom in the dry season when trees are leafless.(p. 97 Barlow 1993) Fast growth rate. Great to add to biodiversity of plantings. Related to soybean (Glycine max.) subject to regular pesticide use. Blooms Jan on. Propagated by seeds or cuttings (p. 72 Le Corre 1985)

It is often used for firebelts around forest and farms as it is nearly 'fireproof' when living. As a nitrogen fixer and fodder it is valuable for it's leaves (bark, roots and seeds are poisonous. Leaves are toxic to non-ruminants like donkeys and horses.) flowers are attractive and make good bee forage. The tree is deciduous, valuable as a mulch. The wood is hard, heavy, termite-resistant, durable and good for fuel. Coppices and produces large quantities of trimmable wood. Seeds should be soaked before sowing. The most common way to propagated is by cuttings, even 2 meters long, which root easily if the soil is wet. (Teel, W., & Hirst, T. (1991). A pocket directory of trees and seeds in Kenya. Nairobi: Kengo.)

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