Leucaena leucocephala is a small fast-growing mimosoid tree native to southern Mexico and northern Central America (Belize and Guatemala)[1][4] and is now naturalized throughout the tropics including parts of Asia.

[9] Leucaena leucocephala is used for a variety of purposes, such as fencing, soil fertility, firewood, fiber, and livestock fodder.

[11] The legume is promoted in several countries of Southeast Asia (at least Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos,[12] and Thailand), most importantly as a source of quality animal feed, but also for residual use for firewood or charcoal production.

[18] Leucaena leucocephala has been considered for biomass production because its reported yield of foliage corresponds to a dried mass of 2,000–20,000 kg/ha/year, and that of wood 30–40 m³/ha/year, with up to twice those amounts in favorable climates.

The young pods are edible and occasionally eaten in Javanese vegetable salad with spicy peanut sauce, and spicy fish wrapped in papaya or taro leaves in Indonesia, and in papaya salad in Laos[12] and Thailand, where they are known as phak krathin (Thai: ผักกระถิน).

It has huge positive socio-economic impact on the livelihood of the small farmers where Subabul is grown as an industrial crop.

This provides an alternate crop choice to the farmers of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states of India where they are also growing cotton and chillies.

[11] It is a highly invasive species in the arid parts of Taiwan, The Bahamas, the Hawaiian Islands, Fiji, Puerto Rico, Hong Kong, South Africa,[22] and northern Australia,[23] as well as in northern Malay Peninsula,[2] South America and Southern Europe.