Terminalia is a genus of large trees of the flowering plant family Combretaceae, comprising nearly 300 species distributed in tropical regions of the world. The genus name derives from the Latin word terminus, referring to the fact that the leaves appear at the very tips of the shoots.
Axlewood (T. latifolia) is used for its wood and tannins and as a fodder. African birch (T. leiocarpa) is used for its wood and to make yellow dye and medicinal compounds. A yellow dyestuff produced from the leaves of T. leiocarpa has traditionally been used in West Africa to dye leather.
Selected species
There are 278 accepted Terminalia species as of July 2024 according to Plants of the World Online. Selected species include:
- Terminalia acuminata <small>(Fr. Allem.) Eichl.</small>
- Terminalia albida <small>Scott-Elliot</small>
- Terminalia amazonia <small>(J.F.Gmel.) Exell</small> – white olive
- Terminalia anogeissiana – axlewood
- Terminalia arbuscula <small>Sw.</small>
- Terminalia archipelagi <small>Coode</small>
- Terminalia arenicola
- Terminalia arjuna <small>(Roxb. ex DC.) Wight & Arn.</small> – arjuna, koha, white marudah
- Terminalia arostrata <small>Ewart & O.B.Davies</small> – crocodile tree
- Terminalia australis <small>Cambess</small> Рpalo amarillo, tanimb̼
- Terminalia avicennioides
- Terminalia bellirica <small>(Gaertn.) Roxb.</small> – beleric
- Terminalia bentii
- Terminalia bialata <small>(Roxb.) Steud.</small> – Indochina, Philippines
- Terminalia buceras
- Terminalia bucidoides <small>Standley & L.O.Williams</small>
- Terminalia bursarina <small></small> – Bendee
- Terminalia calamansanai <small>(Blanco) Rolfe</small>
- Terminalia cambodiana
- Terminalia canescens <small>(DC.) Radlk.</small> – jalool
- Terminalia carolinensis <small>Kaneh.</small>
- Terminalia catappa <small>L.</small> – Indian almond, tropical almond, umbrella tree
- Terminalia chebula <small>Retz.</small> – black myrobalan, chebulic myrobalan, inknut
- Terminalia cherrieri <small>McKee</small>
- Terminalia circumalata <small>F.Muell.</small>
- Terminalia cunninghamii <small>C.A.Gardner</small> – Pindan quondong
- Terminalia dhofarica
- Terminalia eddowesii <small>Coode</small>
- Terminalia engleri <small>Gere & Boatwr.</small> – terenifù (West Africa to Cameroon)
- Terminalia elliptica <small>Willd.</small> – Indian-laurel
- Terminalia eriostachya <small>A.Rich.</small>
- Terminalia ferdinandiana <small>Exell</small> – billygoat plum, Kakadu plum, gubinge
- Terminalia fitzgeraldii <small>C.A.Gardner</small>
- Terminalia glabrata
- Terminalia grandiflora <small>Benth.</small>
- Terminalia hadleyana <small>W.Fitzg.</small>
- Terminalia ivorensis <small>A.Chev.</small> – idigbo, black afara, blackbark, brimstone wood, shingle wood
- Terminalia januariensis <small>DC.</small>
- Terminalia kaernbachii <small>Warb.</small> – okari nut
- Terminalia kangeanensis <small>Slooten</small> – Kangean almond
- Terminalia kuhlmannii <small>Alwan & Stace</small>
- Terminalia kumpaja <small>R.L.Barrett</small>
- Terminalia latifolia <small>Sw.</small>
- Terminalia latipes <small>Benth.</small>
- Terminalia leiocarpa
- Terminalia littoralis <small>L.</small>
- Terminalia macroptera <small>Guill. & Perr.</small>
- Terminalia megalocarpa <small>Exell</small>
- Terminalia microcarpa <small>Decne.</small>
- Terminalia muelleri <small>Benth.</small> – Australian almond
- Terminalia myriocarpa
- Terminalia neotaliala – Madagascar almond tree
- Terminalia nitens <small>C.Presl</small>; sakat (in Philippines)
- Terminalia novocaledonica <small>Däniker</small>
- Terminalia oblongata <small>F.Muell.</small>
- Terminalia paniculata <small>Roth</small>
- Terminalia parviflora <small>Thwaites</small>
- Terminalia pellucida <small>C.Presl</small>
- Terminalia pendula (incorporating T. phillyreifolia)
- Terminalia petiolaris <small>Benth.</small> – marool
- Terminalia platyphylla <small>F.Muell.</small>
- Terminalia platyptera <small>F.Muell.</small>
- Terminalia polycarpa
- Terminalia porphyrocarpa
- Terminalia prunioides
- Terminalia reitzii <small>Excell</small>
- Terminalia rerei <small>Coode</small>
- Terminalia richii <small>A.Gray</small>
- Terminalia rostrata
- Terminalia schimperiana <small>Hochst.</small>
- Terminalia sericea <small>Burch. ex DC.</small> – silver terminalia
- Terminalia superba <small>Engl. & Diels</small> – limba
- Terminalia triptera (syn. T. nigrovenulosa )
- Terminalia volucris <small>Benth.</small>
References