My chickens love this leaf... what is it?

[earthwalker]

I lived iin Naples for 5 years and studied horticulture at a tech school.There is a tree I grew for cattle feed.It was a lucena.Still I would check with the extension service.

 

[ERnoleGuy]

Quote:
Couldn't find any tree named "Lucena" on Google. Is the spelling maybe different?

 

[ChooksChick]

I think Earthwalker may have won the prize!

http://images.google.com/images?q=l...&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4

Is this right?

 

[henryetta]

ah ha, look at page 6 on that site just given.... i'd say thats it!

 

[ChooksChick]

I didn't look yet, but I'm dumping this link in case it helps:

http://trees.stanford.edu/ENCYC/ROBpseud.htm

Or perhaps: http://www.fourdir.com/p_goldenball_leadtree.htm -but I haven't found a pinkish flower yet...

 

[ChooksChick]

Better yet:

http://www.floridasnature.com/images/Lead Tree, Jumbie Bean (Leucaena leucocephala).jpg

http://www.floridasnature.com/exotics2.htm

But it says leaves alternate, when clearly in the picture (and in yours) they are opposite. There are other varietals, but I'm not seeing pics except white and yellow.

http://books.google.com/books?id=-J...resnum=7#v=onepage&q=pink jumbie bean&f=false

 

[henryetta]

yep, pink flower page 6

http://images.google.com/images?q=leuca … p;resnum=4

 

[henryetta]

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&um=1&q=leucaena&sa=N&start=100&ndsp=20


try that...think i posted wrong first, but try this page bottom left

 

[ERnoleGuy]

The Leucaena is of the Mimosa family I have found out. And the name "leucaena" is a Spanish name, not the English name for it. That's why when you Google it, all your results are mostly Spanish. Still, that doesn't look exactly right because those leaves are so close together and look much smaller. I do think though, that we are in the right family of trees.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimosa

If that is the case, I know now not to let them have any of the seeds (when it is that time of the year) because they apparently are toxic to non-ruminant vertebrates. And if I can remember back, when this "tree" was just a little weed, it probably was one of those ones that when you touch, it's leaves fold up.

We are getting closer guys!

 

[ERnoleGuy]

Quote:
No no, mine doesn't have pink flowers. They are a yellowish-white. I never said pink flowers, did I? If I did, my bad. That pic I posted on page 3 was not my tree (as stated), it was just to illustrate what type of flowers it has.