Pat Thibeault

Thanks everyone! The moringa tree seems to be a favourite even though it's not a leguminous plant and isn't hardy all the way up here in my zone 5. So far, my research hasn't uncovered any temperate leguminous tree with edible leaves. What my research and a conversation with a local professional forager did uncover, however, are other edible tree leaves: Little Leaf Linden (Tilia cordite), Basswood (Tilia americana), fragrant spring (Toonia sinesis), mulberry (Morus spp.), beech, dogwood and maple. Of all of these, young beech and linden/basswood leaves are apparently the best. So they may not fix nitrogen in the soil but at least they serve more than a decorative function

Thanks Gregg! The only thing is that I'm all the way up in a zone 5 and the mimosa isn't that hardy...

In Jeffrey Alford's book Chicken in the Mango Tree, he mentions that the leaves of leguminous trees are a regular food for people in the Thai-Khmer region of Thailand. The major trees are tamarind, Cassia siamea, Acacia pennate and Leucaena leucocephala. Does this mean that the leaves of ALL leguminous trees are edible and, if so, which temperate tree varietals could be used?