THE TREE 
Limba grows rapidly but is not very long lived (19.). It may attain 
a height of 150 feet or more and usually has an extremely straight 
clear, cylindrical stem, with a buttressed base which often extends 
8 feet or more above the ground. Diameters, above the buttresses, 
may range from 3 to 5 feet. The tree may occur in nearly pure stands. 
Branches are produced in whorls; the tops of the trees may be flattish. 
The bark is ashy gray, scaly and fissured in older trees. Plantations 
made in West Africa appear to be succeeding and yields from managed 
forests are promising (6, 1^, 19 ) . At 20 years trees may have clean, 
straight boles 50 to 60 feet in height with a girth of about 5 feet. 
The trees coppice from stumps, are adaptable and reproduce naturally 
(20). They prefer good light for best growth (heliophile) and tend 
to be shallow rooted (^, IS) . 
The numerous small yellowish or whitish green flowers are in simple, 
axillary racemes. The fruits are abundant and in the form of samaras, 
each about 3/^-i n ch long, with a lateral spread of wing of 1-1/2 to 
2 inches (20). 
THE WOOD 
Color 
Usually both heartwood and sapwood are light gray-white to pale creamy- 
brown in color, similar to light oak. Sometimes, however, the heartwood 
contains irregular grayish markings, with streaks that may be almost 
black; this wood may bring an extra price. The cause of these markings 
is not fully understood (19_, 2 !2) . For some purposes, the varied dark 
wood has been specially valued, and for others the light color is its 
chief asset (H) . 
The name limba clair (or limba blanc) is given to logs in which about 
two- thirds or more of the diameter is light in color, with heart color 
less than 10 centimeters in diameter (19). Limba noir (limba-bariole, 
or walnut of Mayombe) is the name applied to timbers in which the dark 
heartwood is large enough to show on the sides of the squared logs (15., 19) 
The name limbo demi-noir is given to irregularly veined material, with 
color on two- thirds of the diameter of the log (19). 
Weight 
Limba is reported to weigh about 35 pounds per cubic foot at 15 percent 
moisture content (15). Reports list specific gravity (oven dry weight and 
green volume) as 075b to 0.51 (6, 8), optimum O.5O-O.60 (18) , green, 
0.75 (12). 
Report No. R1778 
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