Elephant ear tree (Enterolobium cyclocarpum)

Sengon buto or elephant ear tree (Enterolobium cyclocarpum) is a species of plant in the Fabaceae, a medium to large tree, 25-35 m high, 3.5 m trunk diameter, umbrella-shaped crown, dry season sheds all leaves and circular pods.

E. cyclocarpum has a cylindrical stem, has many branches from a height of 2 meters, the bark is light gray with reddish brown vertical gaps. Old trees often show damaged, chipped or scarred bark.

Leaves compound bipinnate, 15-40 cm long, 17 cm wide, petiole 2-6 cm with 4-15 pairs of pinnae, each pinna with 40-70 leaflets. Leaflets are slender oblong, 8-15 mm long and 2-4 mm wide.

Globular inflorescences in the axils of new leaves, each head consisting of 50 individual flowers with thousands of thin, filamentous stamens. Each flower consists of 20 stamens and one pistil, very fragrant up to several meters in all directions.

The fruit has a diameter of 7-12 cm, dark brown, shiny, not broken, spiral-shaped like a round disc. The fruit is made of thick soft tissue, containing 8-20 seeds arranged radially. Seeds are 14.5-17.5 mm long, 7.8-11.2 mm wide, 6.2-7.2 mm thick, brown with light brown or orange rings and very hard.

Tolerant of various levels of rainfall, temperature and soil conditions. Most grow in the lowlands in tropical habitats. Widely used as an ornamental tree, shade, shade and create many oases in the hot plains and slopes. The wood is reddish brown in color, light and water resistant.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Mimosoideae
Tribe: Ingeae
Genus: Enterolobium
Species: Enterolobium cyclocarpum

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