Skip to main content

Quickstick (Gliricidia sepium)

Gamal or gliricidia or fence post tree or quickstick (Gliricidia sepium) is a shrub species in Fabaceae, many branches, 2-15 m high, stem diameter 15-30 cm, grayish brown to whiteish leaves, shedding leaves in the dry season and sometimes grooved on old stems.

G. sepium has odd pinnate compound leaves, 15-30 cm long and when young has fine hairs. A number of leaflets of 7-17 pairs sit face to face, lanceolate, 3-6x1.5-3 cm, pointed tip and rounded base. Bare, thin, green on the top and white on the bottom.

Dlium Quickstick (Gliricidia sepium) #Dlium @Dlium

The flower group in panicles contains 25-50 florets and 5-12 cm long. The flower has 5 petals, bright green with a white-purple crown and 10 white stems. Flowers come at the end of the dry season when the trees are not leafy.

Pods have 3-8 seeds, flat elongated, 10-15x1.5-2 cm, green yellow and finally blackish brown, breaking down when ripe and dry. When it's time the pods erupt and throw the seeds as far as 25 m from the tree.

Quickstick has flowers, so some people plant it as an exotic plant. Flowers are often seen all over the tree where the leaves are very few after falling. Trees are planted as living fences or shade for cocoa, coffee, tea, vanilla and pepper.

Gamal has good roots for accumulating nitrogen. This plant also functions as an erosion control and weed killer. The flowers are good bee food. The leaves contain a lot of protein and are easily digested by ruminants. Leaves and twigs as green fertilizer to fertilize the soil.



Fence post tree is a good source of firewood, burning slowly, less smoke and calorific value of 4900 kcal/kg. Terrace wood is durable and resistant to termites with BJ 0.5-0.8. This wood is good for making household furniture, building construction and others.

Leaves, seeds and bark contain poisons but not ruminants. Plant extract is used as a remedy for various skin diseases, rheumatism, headaches, coughs, eye infections and certain injuries. The herb is also used as a natural pesticide and rodenticide.

The original habitat is tropical deciduous forest, 0-1600 m elevation, valleys and slopes, often in logged and shrub areas. Grows on various ecosystems in sand soils up to alluvial deposits on the shores of the lake at 600-3500 mm/year rainfall.

Gliricidia is propagated vegetatively and generatively. Fresh seeds are spread directly without special treatment. Cuttings use stems 1-2.5 m long and 6-10 cm in diameter, the bottom pieces are fried to stimulate the roots. Short cuttings are planted one third in the soil, while long cuttings are planted as deep as 50 cm to be strong.

Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Genus: Gliricidia
Species: G. sepium

Popular Posts

Six new species forming the Sumbana species group in genus Nemophora Hoffmannsegg 1798 from Indonesia

NEWS - Sumbawa longhorn ( Nemophora sumbana Kozlov, sp. nov.), Timor longhorn ( Nemophora timorella Kozlov, sp. nov.), shining shade longhorn ( Nemophora umbronitidella Kozlov, sp. nov.), Wegner longhorn ( Nemophora wegneri Kozlov, sp. nov.), long brush longhorn ( Nemophora longipeniculella Kozlov, sp. nov.), and short brush longhorn ( Nemophora brevipeniculella Kozlov, sp. nov.) from the Lesser Sunda Islands in Indonesia. The Lesser Sunda Islands consist of two parallel, linear oceanic island chains, including Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores, Sumba, Sawu, Timor, Alor, and Tanimbar. The oldest of these islands have been continuously occurring for 10–12 million years. This long period of isolation has allowed significant in situ diversification, making the Lesser Sundas home to many endemic species. This island chain may act as a two-way filter for organisms migrating between the world's two great biogeographic regions, Asia and Australia-Papua. The recognition of a striking cli...

Black nightshade (Solanum nigrum)

Ranti or black nightshade ( Solanum nigrum ) is a species of plant in the Solanaceae, shrub and short-lived, stems erect or lying on the ground, berries have a black color when ripe, grows in forests, agricultural land and disturbed habitats. S. nigrum has stems erect or lying at ground level, 30–120 cm (12 to 47 in) long, branched, tubular with several linear grooves forming a cone, green and white-haired. Leaves are elliptical to heart-shaped, 4-7.5 cm long, 2-5 cm wide, pinnate base, pointed or blunt tip, wavy edge or large toothed, dark green upper side, pale underside, hairy or hairless and has a stalk with a length of 1-3 cm. Flowers have greenish to whitish petals, curved when old and surrounded by bright yellow anthers. The berries are mostly 6-8 mm in diameter and are green then turn dull black or black purple or red. Black nightshade grows well with a soil pH of 5.5-6.5 and is rich in organic matter. It is difficult to grow under conditions of high temperature and high hum...

Redflower ragleaf (Crassocephalum crepidioides)

Sintrong or ebolo or thickhead or redflower ragleaf ( Crassocephalum crepidioides ) are plant species in Asteraceae, terma height 25-100 cm, white fibrous roots, generally grow wild on the roadside, yard gardens or abandoned lands at altitude 200- 2500 m. C. crepidioides has erect or horizontal stems along the soil surface, vascular, soft, non-woody, shallow grooves, green, rough surface and short white hair, aromatic fragrance when squeezed. Petiole is spread on stems, tubular and eared. Single leaf, spread out, green, 8-20 cm long, 3-6 cm wide, longitudinal or round inverted eggshell with a narrow base along the stalk. Pointed tip, flat-edged or curved to pinnate, jagged rough and pointed. The top leaves are smaller and often sit. Compound flowers grow throughout the year in humps that are arranged in terminal flat panicles and androgynous. Green cuffs with orange-brown to brick-red tips, cylindrical for 13-16 mm long and 5-6 mm wide. The crown is yellow with a brownish red...