''Terminalia superba'', the superb terminalia, limba, afara (UK), korina (US), frake (Africa), African limba wood, or ofram (Ghana), is a large tree in the family

Combretaceae The Combretaceae, often called the white mangrove family, are a family of flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, G ...

, native to tropical western

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. It grows up to 60 m tall, with a domed or flat crown, and a trunk typically clear of branches for much of its height, buttressed at the base. The leaves are 10 cm long and 5 cm broad, and are

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

in the

dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The t ...

(November to February). The flowers are produced at the end of the dry season just before the new leaves; they are small and whitish, growing in loose spikes 10–12 cm long. The fruit is a

samara Samara, formerly known as Kuybyshev (1935–1991), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast in Russia. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara (Volga), Samara rivers, with a population of over 1.14 ...

with two wings.

Uses

The wood is either a light (white limba or korina) or with dark stripes (black limba) hardwood. It is used for making furniture, table tennis blades (as outer ply), and musical instruments and prized for its workability and excellent colour and finish. The most well known example of its use in guitars is when Gibson produced their now highly sought-after

Flying V The Gibson Flying V is an electric guitar model introduced by Gibson (guitar company), Gibson in 1958. The Flying V offered a radical, "futuristic" body design, much like its siblings: the Gibson Explorer, Explorer, which was released the same ...

and

Explorer Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some Expectation (epistemic), expectation of Discovery (observation), discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organis ...

guitars in 1958. Makers of table tennis blades choose limba, and in particular black limba, for its flexibility and the idea that it enhances top-spin. Limba is used in some blades made by

Stiga Stiga Group (formerly GGP Spa) is a European manufacturer and distributor of lawnmowers and a wide range of motorized garden tools. It is headquartered in Castelfranco Veneto (Italy). Stiga has 13 subsidiaries in Europe (Austria, Italy, Ben ...

and OSP. When finished in a clear coat, white limba results in an attractive light golden colour. It is not rare nor expensive due to overharvesting, but rather is plentiful due to efforts in the 1950s to preserve a natural supply of the wood. This species is reportedly relatively secure, with little or no threat to its population within its natural growth range, according to the World Conservation Monitoring Center in 1992.

Gallery

File:Terminalia superba-Musée royal de l'Afrique centrale (1).jpg File:Terminalia superba-Musée royal de l'Afrique centrale (2).jpg File:Terminalia superba-Musée royal de l'Afrique centrale (3).jpg File:Terminalia superba-Musée royal de l'Afrique centrale (4).jpg File:Black Limba Commercial Forest Products.jpg, A rare board of 8/4 x 15" wide Quartersawn Black Limba with heavy flame figure

References

Bibliography

* Gledhill, D. (1972). ''West African Trees''. London: Longman. . {{Authority control superba Trees of Africa Taxa named by Adolf Engler Taxa named by Ludwig Diels