The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™

ISSN 2307-8235 (online)

IUCN 2019: T136055124A136055133
Scope: Global
Language: English

Gliricidia sepium
Assessment by: Midgley, S. & Thomson, L.

View on www.iucnredlist.org

Citation: Midgley, S. & Thomson, L. 2019. Gliricidia sepium. The IUCN Red List of Threatened
Species 2019: e.T136055124A136055133. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-
3.RLTS.T136055124A136055133.en

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THE IUCN RED LIST OF THREATENED SPECIES™

Taxonomy
Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family

Plantae Tracheophyta Magnoliopsida Fabales Fabaceae

Taxon Name:  Gliricidia sepium (Jacq.) Steud.

Synonym(s):
• Robinia sepium Jacq.

Taxonomic Source(s):
Board of Trustees, RBG Kew. 2017. Plants of the World Online Portal. Richmond, UK. Available at:
http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org.

Assessment Information
Red List Category & Criteria: Least Concern ver 3.1

Year Published: 2019

Date Assessed: January 31, 2019

Justification:
Gliricidia sepium is native to Central and South America. The species has a wide variety of uses but no
threats are currently recorded for the species. It is assessed as Least Concern.

Geographic Range
Range Description:
Gliricidia sepium has undergone such a high degree of human disturbance through a long history of
cultivation that the precise native range of the species is difficult to determine. It is native to the Pacific
seaboard of Mexico and Central America (Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica).
The species is also native to Colombia and much of Brazil.

Introductions outside tropical America can be traced to the early period of Spanish influence and in the
early 1600s it was introduced to the Philippines. In a later series of introductions, it was introduced to
Sri Lanka in the 1880s as shade in tea plantations, and from there it spread to India, Indonesia, Malaysia
and Thailand. A subsequent wave of introductions to West Africa and Uganda occurred in the early part
of the twentieth century, as shade for plantation crops.

Gliricidia sepium now has a pantropical cultivated distribution, resulting from waves of introductions
over several centuries. In some parts of the exotic distribution, G. sepium has become naturalized,
reproducing itself without the need for further plantings. This is the case in parts of southern India and
in South Africa.

Country Occurrence:

© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Gliricidia sepium – published in 2019. 1
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T136055124A136055133.en
Native: Belize; Brazil (Amazonas, Bahia, Ceará, Espírito Santo, Goiás, Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais,
Paraíba, Paraná, Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Norte, São Paulo); Colombia; Costa Rica; El
Salvador; Guatemala; Honduras; Mexico; Nicaragua; Panama

© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Gliricidia sepium – published in 2019. 2
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T136055124A136055133.en
Distribution Map
Gliricidia sepium

© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Gliricidia sepium – published in 2019. 3
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T136055124A136055133.en
Population
Population information for the species is difficult to attain as it is widely grown and cultivated within its
region of natural occurrence. Information on the natural and native subpopulations is lacking.
Current Population Trend:  Unknown

Habitat and Ecology (see Appendix for additional information)

Gliricidia sepium is a small to large tree species. It grows naturally in subhumid, seasonally dry tropical
climates. It is adaptable and can grow successfully in much wetter, humid, non-seasonal climates with
annual rainfall as high as 3,500 mm. Gliricidia sepium is found on a wide range of soil types from pure
sands of low fertility to heavy black clay soils. It tolerates both alkaline and moderately acidic soils.

Systems:  Terrestrial

Use and Trade

Gliricidia sepium is a highly valued multipurpose tree and is used as fuelwood, construction poles, crop
supports, green manure, fodder and bee forage. In addition, it is used in living fences, to stabilise soils
and prevent erosion, to shade plantation crops and as an ornamental. Gliricidia sepium coppices easily
and is also readly used as a living fence.

Both in its region of natural occurrence and as an exotic, G. sepium has also been used extensively as a
shade tree in cocoa, coffee and tea plantations.

Threats
No immediate threats have been identified.

Conservation Actions (see Appendix for additional information)

Gliricidia sepium is widely grown and cultivated within its region of natural occurrence and is planted
widely throughout the tropics. Comprehensive range-wide seed collections have been undertaken and
international assessments completed and seed stands established. There appears to be no specific
conservation and management strategy for G. sepium, however, no immediate threats to genetic
resources have been identified.

Credits
Assessor(s): Midgley, S. & Thomson, L.

Reviewer(s): Barstow, M.

© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Gliricidia sepium – published in 2019. 4
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T136055124A136055133.en
Bibliography
BGCI. 2019. PlantSearch online database. Richmond, UK Available at: www.bgci.org/plant_search.php.
(Accessed: 2019).

GBIF. 2019. Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Available at: http://data.gbif.org/species/.

(Accessed: 2019).

IUCN. 2019. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2019-3. Available at: www.iucnredlist.org.
(Accessed: 10 December 2019).

JBRJ. 2019. Reflora - Herbário Virtual. Available at:

http://reflora.jbrj.gov.br/reflora/herbarioVirtual/ConsultaPublicoHVUC/ConsultaPublicoHVUC.do.

Ruiz, L.K. , S.R. Gradstein & R. Bernal. 2015. Gliricidia sepium (Jacq.) Walp. In: Bernal, R., S.R. Gradstein &
M. Celis (ed.), Catálogo de plantas y líquenes de Colombia, Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad
Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá.

Thomson, L., Doran, J. and Clarke, B. (eds). 2018. Trees for Life in Oceania: Conservation and Utilisation
of Genetic Diversity. Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, Canberra.

Citation
Midgley, S. & Thomson, L. 2019. Gliricidia sepium. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019:
e.T136055124A136055133. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-
3.RLTS.T136055124A136055133.en

Disclaimer
To make use of this information, please check the Terms of Use.

External Resources
For Images and External Links to Additional Information, please see the Red List website.

© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Gliricidia sepium – published in 2019. 5
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T136055124A136055133.en
 Appendix

Habitats
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)

Major
Habitat Season Suitability
Importance?

1. Forest -> 1.5. Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Dry Resident Suitable -

1. Forest -> 1.6. Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland Resident Suitable -

Plant Growth Forms

(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)

Plant Growth Forms

Tree - small

Conservation Actions in Place

(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)

Conservation Actions in Place

In-Place Research, Monitoring and Planning

Action Recovery plan: No

In-Place Species Management

Subject to ex-situ conservation: Yes

Additional Data Fields

Distribution
Lower elevation limit (m): 600

Upper elevation limit (m): 1500

© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Gliricidia sepium – published in 2019. 6
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T136055124A136055133.en
The IUCN Red List Partnership

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ is produced and managed by the IUCN Global Species
Programme, the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) and The IUCN Red List Partnership.

The IUCN Red List Partners are: Arizona State University; BirdLife International; Botanic Gardens
Conservation International; Conservation International; NatureServe; Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew;
Sapienza University of Rome; Texas A&M University; and Zoological Society of London.

THE IUCN RED LIST OF THREATENED SPECIES™