Terminalia leiocarpa

Terminalia leiocarpa
Anogeissus leiocarpa flowers in Burkina Faso
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Combretaceae
Genus: Terminalia
Species:
T. leiocarpa
Binomial name
Terminalia leiocarpa
(DC.) Baill. (1876)
Synonyms
  • Anogeissus leiocarpa (DC.) Guill. & Perr. (1832)
  • Anogeissus leiocarpa f. grandifolia Engl. & Diels (1899)
  • Anogeissus leiocarpa f. parvifolia Hochst. ex Engl. & Diels (1899)
  • Anogeissus leiocarpa var. schimperi (Hochst. ex Hutch. & Dalziel) Aubrév. (1950)
  • Anogeissus schimperi Hochst. ex Hutch. & Dalziel (1927)
  • Conocarpus leiocarpus DC. (1828)
  • Conocarpus parvifolius Hochst. ex A.Rich. (1848)
  • Conocarpus schimperi Hochst. ex A.Rich. (1848)
  • Terminalia schimperi (Hochst. ex Hutch. & Dalziel) Gere & Boatwr. (2017)

Terminalia leiocarpa (African birch; Bambara: ngálǎma) is a species of tree in the genus Terminalia. It is a deciduous tree native of tropical Africa from Senegal and Guinea in the west to Eritrea in the east and as far south as the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Terminalia leiocarpa germinates in the new soils produced by seasonal wetlands. It is a forest fringe plant, growing at the edges of the rainforest, although not deep in the rainforest. It also grows in savanna, and along riverbanks, where it forms gallery forests. The tree flowers in the rainy season, from June to October. The fruit are winged samaras, and are dispersed by ants.