Trade Names:  Louro Preto, Cordia, Louro Pardo

Origin:  Tropical, Central and South America, especially Guyana, Ecuador and Brazil.

Range:  A number of different botanical genera are produced and traded as Louro Preto. This is why it is not possible to isolate one single species of this wood to be the very first one to carry this name.

Uses:  Architectural woodwork and mass-produced furniture. Less known in Europe. Used in South America also as deck planks for shipbuilding.

Properties:  Beautiful medium brown to olive-brown color in which the different textures, from regular to extremely wild, come into their own.

Machining:  Despite a certain hardness Louro Preto is easy to work with all tools. However, crystalline deposits quickly dull tools. Carbide-tipped blades are to be recommended.

Seasoning:  To avoid tension checking on the surface and at the ends it must be dried slowly and carefully. Louro Preto also tends to distort.