290 WILD FOOD PLANTS OF THE PHILIPPINES 



The leaves of this species are sour, and are used considerably 

 by the Filipinos for flavoring meats and fish. 



Bauhinia malabarica is a small tree reaching a height of about 

 8 to 10 meters. The leaves are alternate, heart-shaped at the 

 base, deeply notched at the apex, 5 to 10 centimeters long, and 

 usually wider than long. The flowers are white and rather large. 

 The pods are long, narrow, and flattened. 



This species is common in open places and second-growth 

 forests in the Philippines, and is particularly abundant in the 

 early stages of the invasion of grassland by second-growth 

 forests. 



Genus LEUCAENA 

 LEUCAENA GLAUCA (L.) Benth. (Fig. .31). Ipil-IPIL. 



Local names: Agho (Iloilo) ; cipres (S. Tayabas) ; ddtiles or bidtiles 

 (Cebu) ; ijnl (Rizal, Manila, Cavite, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Pangasinan) ; 

 ipil-ipil (Laguna) ; Jerusalem (Batangas) ; kabahero or kabaero (Cebu) ; 

 koriskis (Ilocos Sur) ; komkomjntvi (Ilocos Sur, Pangasinan) ; loiloi 

 (Leyte) ; malagdnit (Nueva Ecija) ; palomaria (Camarines) ; San Pedro 

 (Capiz) ; Santa Elena (Pangasinan, Launa, Rizal, Batangas, Tayabas). 



In some provinces the seeds of this species are roasted and 

 ground, and then used as a substitute for coffee. These seeds 

 have been analyzed by Brill.* 



The Bureau of Forestry has found ipil-ipil to be a very valua- 

 ble firewood crop, and also exceedingly useful in reforestation 

 work. It has been planted with great success in grass areas 

 as a nurse crop for forest trees.t 



Leucaeym gUiuca is a shrub or small tree 2 to 6 meters high. 

 The leaves are 15 to 25 centimeters long and compound with 

 numerous leaflets which are narrow and 7 to 12 millimeters in 

 length. The flowers are white, and occur in dense, solitary, 

 rounded heads which are 2 to 5 centimeters in diameter. The 

 pods are thin, flat, 12 to 18 centimeters long, 1.4 to 2 centimeters 

 wide, and contain from 15 to 25 elliptical, shiny, brown seeds. 



This species is a native of tropical America, but is now found 

 throughout the tropics. It is thoroughly naturalized in the Phil- 

 ippines and very common and widely distributed. 



* Brill, H. C, Ipil, a coffee substitute: Leucaena glauca (Linnaeus) 

 Bentham. Philippine Journal of Science, Volume 11 (1916), pages 101 

 to 104. 



t Matthews, D. M., Ipil-ipil — A firewood and reforestation crop. Bureau 

 of Forestry Bulletin No. 1-3 (1914). 



