Geographic Distribution:
The wood commonly known by wood workers as Louro Preto, also sometimes referred to as Laurel Negro, is known to botanists and other scientists as Cordia spp., most commonly C. megalantha and C. glabrata).
Cordia spp. is found and harvested over a wide range of the tropical Americas from southern Mexico, through Central America and into continental South America as far south as Brazil.
For the sake of simplicity and common understanding I will refer to Cordia spp. from here forward using the common name Louro Preto.
General Characteristics:
The heartwood of Louro Preto tends to be of a medium brown with a reddish cast (or sometimes olive-colored cast). Darker brown streaks are common. The pale sapwood is sharply demarcated from the heartwood. Sadly, as is very often the case with highly colored tropical hardwood, the color will darken with age and exposure to ultraviolet light.
The grain of Louro Preto can be either straight or irregular.
The texture is fine to medium.
Louro Preto demonstrates a good natural luster when finely finished and polished with the natural oils present in the wood.
Louro Preto is reported to be very durable against rot but there are no definitive data regarding insect attack.
Working Characteristics:
On the whole, Louro Preto is easily worked and machined with good results.
Although Louro Preto has a fairly high amount of natural oils present, gluing is usually problem-free.
Louro Preto is reported to turn and finish well.
Some species sold as Louro Preto may contain silica that will dull cutters.
Louro Preto is reported to have a distinctive and pleasant scent when freshly cut.
Pricing and Availability:
Louro Preto prices are likely to be high for an imported hardwood.
Louro Preto is not a commonly imported hardwood; its relatives such as Bocote are much more commonly seen in the United States, so it may prove difficult to source.
In this blog, I almost always recommend several vendors with whom I have done considerable business and in whom I have great confidence. These vendors are: West Penn Hardwoods, Bell Forest Products, NC Wood, WoodTurningz, Amazon Exotic Hardwoods, Griffin Exotic Wood, Exotic Woods USA, Got Wood?, and Wood Turning Blanks 4U.
Sadly at this time, I am unable to locate any bowl blank sizes of Louro Preto although I was able to find one vendor selling pen and knife handle blanks. Some eBay sellers offer spindle sizes, but I have a serious lack of trust in wood identification and sourcing when it comes to eBay purchases.
Woodfinder is an excellent website that is dedicated to advertising wood dealers. In your search for Louro Preto this can be an invaluable resource provided you use multiple search terms to capture all the possible listings. I can’t speak to the quality of any of the listed dealers, but Woodfinder does have the advantage of allowing searches to be performed based on location which might allow an interested buyer to visit a listed wood dealer in person to hand pick pieces at a comfortable price.
A significant problem with using Woodfinder is that many vendors are listed for woods that, upon further investigation, they do not offer. I don’t know if perhaps once they did and they didn’t update their listings or if some vendors use a standardized list of woods that include most everything conceivable with the idea that once you land on their page you will find something you want to buy even if you didn’t know it beforehand. It happens to me all the time!
Common Uses:
When available, Louro Preto is used most commonly in furniture, cabinetry, veneer, and turned objects.
Sustainability:
Louro Preto is not listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendices nor is it listed on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List.