One of the most useful trees on the whole property, even though nobody eats anything off it.
The Basics
Gliricidia, Gliricidia sepium, is a medium-sized, fast-growing tree in the legume family, Fabaceae.
Origin and Habitat
Native to Mexico and Central America, where it’s long been used as a living fence and shade tree throughout the tropics.
What It Looks Like
A medium tree that grows remarkably fast, with the unusual trait that you can literally stick a large piece of an older branch straight into the ground and it will take root and grow.
Uses and Flavor
Not a food crop for us. In South America it’s called Madre de Cacao, mother of cacao, because it’s the classic shade tree used in cacao plantations, and that’s basically the job it does here too.
Growing It Here
My friends Adam and Katie taught me the trick of just sticking a big cutting into the ground, since they grow a hedge of it that way along their own gardens. I planted several as cuttings on day 10 of the whole planting project, and a later cutting that had been sitting in the compost pile for months still took when I finally planted it. It does real work here: wind protection for sensitive trees like cacao, dapple shade for shade-loving plants like green tea, deep nitrogen-fixing roots that improve soil health, endless chop-and-drop material for mulch and compost since it grows back so fast, and bees love the flowers on top of all that. The one catch is I let a couple of them grow way too big, one is now over 40 feet tall, which is honestly become a problem rather than a help. I’m going to hire a friend to help take the oversized ones out and be more careful about placement next time.
Pests and Diseases to Watch For
No pest issues to report. The only real problem this tree causes is its own success if you let it get too big.
Kenta’s Take
By strategically planting a beneficial tree like this one, you can create ideal conditions for the trees you actually want, while improving the soil and speeding up natural succession at the same time. Just don’t make my mistake and let it get away from you, size-wise.