Elephant ear tree (Enterolobium cyclocarpum)

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

E. cyclocarpum has light gray bark with reddish brown vertical fissures. Young trees it has a characteristic reddish hue. Older specimens often show damaged, flaky or scarred bark.





Bipinnate compound leaves, 15-40 cm long, 17 cm wide, 2-6 cm petiole, 4-15 pairs of pinnae, each pinna having 40-70 leaflets. Leaflets slender, oblong, 8-15 mm long by 2-4 mm wide. Petioles show small oval glands.

This tree is evergreen or sheds briefly in 1-2 months during dry season. Most of the leaves fall in December or the start of the dry season. In late February, a growth spurt begins that reshapes the fresh, thick crown in April.

Simultaneously with the renewal of the leaves is the appearance of spherical inflorescences (3 cm) in the axils of new leaves. Supported by a long pedestal (4 cm), each globular white head is composed of about 50 individual flowers and displays thousands of thin, filamentous stamens as the main feature.

Each flower is composed of about 20 stamens and a pistil at the base by a short green tubular corolla and even shorter calyx, only 5 mm long.

The fruit has a diameter of 7-12 cm, dark brown, glossy, unbroken, spirally arranged pods and shaped like an orbicular disc. Fruit of thick soft tissue with a leathery feel, pods containing 8–20 seeds arranged radially, 14.5–17.5 mm long, 7.8–11.2 mm broad, 6.2–7.2 mm thick mm and weighs 1 g. The seeds are brown with a conspicuous bright brown or orange ring and are very hard.

Flowers are visited heavily by bees, but seed pods are completely ignored by fauna and accumulate on the forest floor beneath mother trees. Seeds are not eaten by animals, making this species an evolutionary anachronism.

Seeds protected by a hard coating do not start growing unless the protective covering is opened in some way. This may be an adaptation designed to prevent the seeds from germinating while still in the pods at the start of the rainy season and most likely still under the parent tree after falling from the canopy.

This tree is tolerant of a wide range of rainfall levels, temperatures and soil conditions in most lowland tropical habitats. The tree is highly valued as an ornamental plant and the shade it provides creates many oases on the scorching, sun-baked plains of Pacific slope habitat.

This species is planted as a shade tree to protect coffee plantations, shelter, fodder. Leaves are used to increase soil fertility by nitrogen fixation. The leaves, fruits and seeds are enjoyed by cows, pigs, goats, sheep and horses.

The sap is considered to be able to overcome influenza and bronchitis, while the astringent properties of the green fruit are used for diarrhea. The fruit and bark also contain tannins which are useful for preserving the skin and making soap, while the sap can be used as a natural adhesive or glue substitute or chewed as a kind of gum.

The young seed pods are harvested and the seeds are boiled as food. The fine seeds are used to make jewelry. Old kernels are heated over a fire until they pop like popcorn. germination rate is almost 100%. Seedlings often reach over 1 meter in height in the first year.

The wood is reddish-brown, light (0.34-0.6 g/cm3 or 0.20-0.35 oz/cu in) and water-resistant. The wood is used to make doors, windows, cabinets and shipbuilding. Wood is considered a sustainable resource due to the ability of trees to reach large sizes quickly and it is easier to find large natural chunks of up to several meters which is rare in other slower growing woods.

This aggressive reproductive characteristic can be profitably exploited in afforestation projects, although the plant is considered an invasive species in some places. Strong roots and large trees can damage nearby structures.

TAXON

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Mimosoideae
Tribe: Ingeae
Genus: Enterolobium Mart. in Flora 20(2 Beibl.): 117 (1837)
Species: Enterolobium cyclocarpum (Jacq.) Griseb. in Fl. Brit. W. I.: 226 (1860)

HOMOTYPIC SYNONYMS

Feuilleea cyclocarpa (Jacq.) Kuntze in Revis. Gen. Pl. 1: 187 (1891)
Inga cyclocarpa (Jacq.) Willd. in Sp. Pl., ed. 4. 4: 1026 (1806)
Mimosa cyclocarpa Jacq. in Fragm. Bot.: 30 (1805)
Pithecellobium cyclocarpum (Jacq.) Mart. in Flora 20(2 Beibl.): 115 (1837)

HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS

Albizia longipes Britton & Killip in Ann. New York Acad. Sci. 35: 132 (1936)
Mimosa parota Sessé & Moc. in Naturaleza (Mexico City), ser. 2, 1(App.): 177 (1890)
Prosopis dubia Kunth in F.W.H.von Humboldt, A.J.A.Bonpland & C.S.Kunth, Nov. Gen. Sp. 6: 309 (1824)

PUBLICATIONS

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Fuentes, A.F., Miranda, T., Araujo-Murakami, A., Cayola, L. Macia, M.J. & Jørgensen, P.M. (2009). Novedades florísticas de la región Madidi, La Paz, Bolivia. Revista de la Sociedad Boliviana de Botánica 4: 293-313.

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Gosline, G., Bidault, E., van der Burgt, X., Cahen, D., Challen, G., Condé, N., Couch, C., Couvreur, T.L.P., Dagallier, L.M.J., Darbyshire, I., Dawson, S., Doré, T.S., Goyder, D., Grall, A., Haba, P., Haba, P., Harris, D., Hind, D.J.N., Jongkind, & al. (2023). A Taxonomically-verified and Vouchered Checklist of the Vascular Plants of the Republic of Guinea. Nature, scientific data 10, Article number: 327: [1]-[12].

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Hokche, O., Berry, P.E. & Huber, O. (eds.) (2008). Nuevo Catálogo de la Flora Vascular de Venezuela: 1-859. Fundación Instituto Botánico de Venezuela.

Idárraga-Piedrahita, A., Ortiz, R.D.C., Callejas Posada, R. & Merello, M. (eds.) (2011). Flora de Antioquia: Catálogo de las Plantas Vasculares 2: 1-939. Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín.

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Nelson Sutherland, C.H. (2008). Catálogo de las plantes vasculares de Honduras. Espermatofitas: 1-1576. SERNA/Guaymuras, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

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Sanjappa, M., Pusalkar, P.K. & Mao, A.A. (eds.) (2024). Flora of India 6: 1-556. Botanical Survey of India.

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Stevens, W.D., Ulloa U., C., Pool, A. & Montiel, O.M. (2001). Flora de Nicaragua. Monographs in Systematic Botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden 85: i-xlii, 1-2666. Missouri Botanical Garden.

Villaseñor, J.L. (2016). Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad 87: 559-902.

Wu, Z. & Raven, P.H. (eds.) (2010). Flora of China 10: 1-642. Science Press (Beijing) & Missouri Botanical Garden Press (St. Louis).

Zhu, X.Y., Zhang, R.P. & He, Y.L. (eds.) (2021). An inventory of legume species diversity of Myanmar: 1-297. China Minzu university press.

VERNACULAR NAME

Arabic: شجرة أذن الفيل
Chinese (Simplified): 象耳树
Chinese (Traditional): 象耳樹
English: Guanacaste, elephant ear tree, Devil's ear tree, Earpod, Monkey ear tree
Finnish: Meksikonkorvapalko
French: Oreille à mulâtre
German: Ohrenfruchtbaum
Hebrew: עץ אוזני פיל
Indonesian: Sengon buto
Japanese: ゾウの耳の木
Korean: 코끼리 귀 나무
Russian: Энтеролобиум круглоплодный
Slovak: Enterolóbium kruhoplodé
Spanish: Corotu, Guanacaste, Huanacaxtle, Orejero, Parota, Piñón de oreja
Thai: ต้นหูช้าง

Aryo Bandoro
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