Inga laurina (Sw.) Willd., Fabaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Evaluate, score: 6 (Go to the risk assessment).

Other Latin names:  Inga fagifolia (L.) Willd. ex Benth.; Mimosa fagifolia L.; Mimosa laurina Sw.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: sacky sac bean, Spanish oak

French: arbre a miel, pois doux blanc

Spanish: cujincuil, palal, paternillo

Habit:  tree

Description:  "A small tree, commonly 8-9 meters high, with a broad crown, glabrous throughout or nearly so; leaf rachis naked, with small cupular glands between each pair of leaflets, slender; leaflets 1-3 pairs, subcoriaceous, obliquely ovate or obovate, sometimes elliptic, 4-14 cm. long, 1.5-4.5 cm. wide, acute or obtuse, usually with an obtuse tip, cuneately narrowed at the base; flowers spicate, the spikes axillary or terminal, solitary or geminate, 4-15 cm. long, lax and rather remotely flowered; flowers sessile or subsessile, white, fragrant; calyx tubular, glabrous or nearly so, 4-5 mm. long; corolla tubular-campanulate, 4-5 mm. long, the stamen tube long-exserted; legume flat and strongly compressed, glabrous or almost so, 7-15 cm. long, 2-3.5 cm. wide, sessile, broadly rounded at the apex, the margins strongly thickened"  (Standley & Steyermark, 1946; (5):38).

Habitat/ecology:  In Guatemala (native), "dry rocky thickets or thin forest, 700 meters or less"  (Standley & Steyermark, 1946; (5):38).  In New Caledonia, "moins commun dans les jardins que le précédent, mais parfois spontané"  (MacKee, 1994; p. 78).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Mexico; Central and South America (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island		Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.) (1927) (voucher ID: BISH 55558) Taxon name on voucher: Inga fagifolia (L.) Willd. ex Benth.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island		Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.) (1933) (voucher ID: BISH 55559) Taxon name on voucher: Inga fagifolia (L.) Willd. ex Benth.
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 78) Vouchers cited: Robert in MacKee 21513, MacKee 21876, MacKee 22586, Suprin in MacKee 45982 spontané

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Colombia Colombia	Colombia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Costa Rica Costa Rica	Costa Rica (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Ecuador (Mainland) Ecuador	Ecuador (Republic of) (continental)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
El Salvador El Salvador	El Salvador (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Guatemala Guatemala	Guatemala (Republic of)	native	Standley, Paul C./Steyermark, Julian A. (1946) (p. 38)
Honduras Honduras	Honduras (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Nicaragua Nicaragua	Nicaragua (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Panama Panama	Panama (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Perú Perú	Perú (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
La Réunion (France) La Réunion Island	La Réunion Island	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Mauritius Island	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2011)

Additional information:
Additional online information about Inga laurina is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Inga laurina as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Inga laurina may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.). 1927. Voucher specimen #BISH55558(Brown, F. 1444).

Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.). 1933. Voucher specimen #BISH55559(Judd, A.F. s.n.).

ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre. 2011. International Legume Database & Information Service. Online searchable database.

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

Standley, Paul C./Steyermark, Julian A. 1946. Flora of Guatemala. Fieldiana: Botany. Vol. 24, Part V. Chicago Natural History Museum. 502 pp.

U. S. Government. 2011. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (on-line resource).

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.