Bwa-yo - Société Audubon Haiti

146 Piyon
Distribution and Ecology: G. sepium is a native ofCentral America and Mexico, ranging
as far south as the northern portion of South America. The species may have been
introduced into the Caribbean by the Spanish during the last century for cacao shade
and as a living fence (Ford, 1987). The species seems to have been established in Cuba
before spreading to Hispaniola and Puerto Rico (Liogier, 1974). The distribution ofthe
species is very scattered in Haiti, tending to occur in pockets along the major trade
routes, particularly in the lower elevations of the coffee-growing regions. Here it thrives
best in moist-to-humid forest conditions with rainfall greater than 1000 mm and elevations
below 600 m. The most conspicuous concentration of the species is in the Fondsdes-Negres
area spreading toward l:Asile in southern Haiti, where is found the best
example ofits use as a live fence. In other regions of Haiti, the species usually is mixed
with other live fence species or occurs as a single tree near residences. G. sepium is
rarely found along the dry coastal regions, the thorn scrub areas on the leeward side of
mountains or mountain elevations above 800 m.
Since the early 1980s,
many provenances of Gliricidia
sepium have been distributed
throughout Haiti by
various natural resource management
projects, by both the
Ministry of Agriculture and
non-governmental organizations
involved in soil conservation,
forestry and agroforestry
strategies with
Haitian farming communities.
In due time, it is expected
to be more widespread and
more common as farmers
become familiar with utilizing
the species and thus have
easy access to planting material.
Tree Characteristics: In its
natural form, the tree is lowforked
and multiple
stemmed, rarely reaching
heights above 12 meters.
Occasionally, trees with
stem diameters up to 40 em
can be found (Fig. 17.3).
Most of the forms of juvenile
trees are pruned as a
Figure 17.3 Large trunk of G. sepium near petionville. result of being incorporated