KELOBRA
BOTANICAL NAME: Enterolobium cyclocarpum of the family Fabaceae (syn Leguminosae) the legume, pea, or bean family
COMMON NAMES: aguacasle (mexico), ahuacashle (mexico), algarroba (cuba), algarroba carretera (cuba), algarrobo de orejas (cuba), anjera (colombia), anjero (colombia), arbol, arbol de las orejas (cuba), arbol de orejas (el salvador), bois tanni, bois tanniste rouge (haiti), brown uya (guyana), camba-camby (argentina), cara caro (venezuela), caracara (venezuela), caracaro (venezuela), carito (colombia), caro (colombia and venezuela), caro hembra (el salvador), caro negro (venezuela), caro-caro (venezuela), carocaro (venezuela), cascabel (mexico), cascabel sonaja (mexico), cenezero (costa rica), cenicero (latin america), cenizaro (costa rica), cenizero (costa rica), central american walnut (latin america), chimbo (brazil), color, conacaste (brazil and central america), conanaste negro (central america), conicaste, conocaste (guatemala and mexico), coratu (panama), corotu (panama), cuanacaztlc (mexico), cuanacaztle (mexico), cuanacaztli (mexico), cuau-nacaztli (mexico), cuaunacaztli (mexico), cuytatsuic (mexico), devils-ear (guyana and trinidad), dormilon (puerto rico), earpod (philippines), earpod tree, earpodtree (puerto rico and usa), eartree (panama and usa), elephant's ear, elephant-ear (jamaica), espina (peru), flamboyan extranjero (dominican republic), genicero (central america and nicaragua), genisero (mexico and nicaragua), genizero (central america and mexico and south america and west indies), guanacaste (costa rica and el salvador and guatemala and honduras and mexico and panama and puerto rico and venezuela), guanacaste blanco (nicaragua), guanacaste de oreja (nicaragua), guanacaste negro, guanacastillo (mexico), guanacastle (mexico and nicaragua), guanaxtle, harina (panama), huanacaste, huanacaxtle (mexico), huanaxtle (mexico), hueinacaztle (mexico), hueinastli (mexico), hueso de pescado (venezuela), huinacaxtle (mexico), huinecaxtli (mexico), huinecaztle (mexico), ir (senegal), jarina (costa rica and panama), jenisero (belize and guatemala and mexico), jenizero (central america), juana costa (mexico), juana costa mahogany (latin america), kelobra (belize and guatemala and mexico), kolobra, lacre de bajo, lash-matz-zi (mexico), ma-ta-cua-tze (mexico), mahogany, mexican walnut (mexico), mo-cua-dzi (mexico), mo-ni-no (mexico), monjolo (brazil), monkey ear, monkey-soap (jamaica), nacascuahuitl (mexico), nacashe (mexico), nacaste (mexico), nacastillo (mexico), nacastle (mexico), nacaxtle (mexico), nacazle (mexico), nacaztle (mexico), negro, nigger-ear (philippines), oreja (dominican republic), oreja de judio (cuba), oreja de mono (puerto rico), oreja de negro (argentina), oreja judio (cuba), orejas, orejero (colombia and venezuela), orejo (colombia), orejon (cuba and mexico), oriera (colombia), pacara (argentina), para (argentina), parapara (venezuela), parota (belize and guatemala and mexico), perota (mexico), pich (central america and mexico), piche (mexico), pichwood (central america and mexico), pinon (colombia), pinon de oreja (colombia), pinton (colombia), pitchwood, raintree (belize and guatemala and mexico), saman, shma-dzi (mexico), soro, south american walnut (latin america), tamboril (central america and mexico and south america and west indies), tamboriuva (brazil), tanni, timbo (argentina and brazil and paraguay), timbo color, timbo colorado (argentina and paraguay), timbouva (argentina and brazil), tiyuhu (mexico), tobroos (venezuela), tubroos (belize and central america), tuburus (nicaragua), tutajan (mexico), walnut
TYPE: hardwood
COLOR: Heartwood brown, sometimes with a greenish cast and with various streaks and shadings, also sometimes with a reddish tinge; sharply demarcated from the whitish sapwood.
GRAIN: typically interlocked
TEXTURE: coarse
PROPERTIES / WORKABILITY: The wood is easy to work with hand and machine tools, nails easily, planes easily, little blunting effect, chipped grain and raised grain (fuzziness) is common in planing as well as rough end grain in shaping due to common presence of tension wood.
DURABILITY: The heartwood is reported to have good resistance to attack by decay fungi; also resistant to dry-wood termite attack. Durability in water is reported to be very high.
FINISH: lustrous, and takes stain and finishes well
STABILITY: little movement in service
BENDING:
ODOR: without distinctive odor or taste
SOURCES: Mexico and southward through Central America
USES:
bent parts,
blockboard,
boxes and crates.
building materials,
cabinetmaking,
cabinets,
casks,
chairs,
chests,
core Stock,
cutting surfaces,
decorative veneer,
desks,
dining-room furniture,
drawer sides,
figured veneer,
fine furniture,
fishnet floats,
floats,
furniture,
furniture components,
furniture squares or stock,
hatracks,
interior construction,
interior trim,
kitchen cabinets,
living-room suites,
millwork,
moldings,
office furniture,
packing cases,
paneling,
particleboard,
pattern wood,
rustic furniture,
stools,
trimming,
utility furniture,
veneer,
veneer,
wainscotting,
wardrobes
TREE: Tree heights 60 to 100 ft with a stout short trunk 3 to 6 ft or more in diameter; large spreading crown.
WEIGHT: light --- reports say 26 pounds per cubic foot but my own experience has it a bit lighter than that (one piece came in at 22). I saw one batch of bowl blanks listed as being not fully dried and weighing about 6 lbs/cuft, which I find barely believable.
DRYING: most reports say that it seasons quickly with little tendency to warp, check, or split
AVAILABILITY:
COST:
OTHER NOTES:
Tension wood is reported to be rather common
Sawdust from seasoned wood is reported to be pungent and may cause mucous irritation and allergies in some individuals
web quotes:
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often planted as an ornamental.
Dust from dry wood is pungent and irritating to mucous membranes and may cause allergies
An imported wood of increasing importance. Used in California for furniture, interior finish of houses and office buildings, show windows, and for cabinets. It is strong and tough and takes a high polish. The Monadnock Building in San Francisco is trimmed throughout with this wood.
Although the wood is described as useful and attractive, it is not classed as a high grade furniture wood.
crotches are reported to be often highly figured