Louro Preto

Louro Preto is the wood of Cordia goeldiana, a medium-sized to large hardwood of the Amazon Basin in northern Brazil, in the borage family (Boraginaceae). It grows in the terra firme forests of Pará, Amazonas, and the surrounding eastern Amazon, and is one of the more commercially familiar Amazonian cabinet woods — better known in the international trade under the name Freijó, where it has long been marketed as a lighter, more workable alternative to true walnut.

At a glance the timber is a warm, medium-brown wood with a straight to slightly irregular grain and a subdued but attractive figure — on our sample it reads light tan to golden with darker brown streaking. It is moderate in weight and density, comfortable to work, and dimensionally stable once dry, which has made it a staple for furniture, joinery, and boatbuilding throughout Brazil. Note that 'Louro' is a name shared loosely across several unrelated Amazonian timbers (many true Laurus-family 'louros'), so identifying it specifically as Cordia goeldiana / Freijó matters.

The heartwood ranges from a light golden-tan to a warm yellow-brown or tobacco brown, frequently marked with darker brown streaks that give it a walnut-like or lightly striped appearance; the sapwood is paler, yellowish to greyish, and reasonably well demarcated. On our sample the color reads light tan to golden with darker brown streaks, and the grain is straight to slightly irregular with a medium figure and a low-to-moderate natural luster.

Texture is medium and fairly even, and the grain is usually straight though sometimes slightly wavy or irregular, which can produce a mild stripe or ribbon on quartered stock. It is a moderately dense wood — roughly 550–650 kg/m³ air-dry — with a Janka hardness in the neighborhood of 1,010 lbf, placing it in the medium range: harder and denser than the pale utility 'louros' but well below dense tropicals like ipê or cumaru, and broadly comparable to genuine walnut in weight and feel.

Natural durability is moderate to good. The heartwood is generally rated durable, with fair resistance to decay and reasonable resistance to insects, though it is not immune to marine borers or termites in ground contact. It seasons well with relatively little movement and is regarded as a notably stable wood in service.

Louro Preto / Freijó is a general-purpose cabinet and joinery wood. Its warm color, easy working, and stability make it a common choice for furniture, cabinetry, interior trim, doors, window frames, panelling, and decorative veneer, where its walnut-like tone is valued.

Because it combines moderate weight with good durability and dimensional stability, it has a long history in boatbuilding and marine joinery in Brazil, as well as in light construction, flooring, and turnery. It also sees use in musical instruments, gunstocks, carving, and general millwork, and its subdued figure makes it a versatile secondary and show wood alike.

Louro Preto is generally easy to work with both hand and machine tools. It cuts, planes, and moulds cleanly and causes only moderate blunting of edges; where the grain runs slightly irregular or wavy there can be some tearout in planing, so sharp tooling and a modest cutting angle help produce a clean surface. It turns and carves reasonably well and holds detail acceptably for a medium-density wood.

It glues, screws, and nails without much trouble, and it takes stains and finishes well, developing a warm, mellow sheen; its even texture means it needs little filling. It also dries fairly readily with low shrinkage and good stability, which is a large part of its appeal for furniture and joinery.

On safety, Cordia goeldiana is not considered highly toxic, but like many tropical hardwoods its fine dust can cause respiratory, skin, and eye irritation in sensitive individuals, and some Cordia woods have been associated with such reactions. Use effective dust extraction and a respirator, and wear eye protection when machining or sanding. The species is not listed on CITES.

Louro Preto / Freijó is a moderately available Brazilian timber, traded regionally in good quantity and exported as lumber and veneer, though it is far less ubiquitous on the international market than commodity tropicals. Outside Brazil it is a specialty item, found through importers and hardwood dealers rather than general lumberyards, and it sits in the mid price range for an imported tropical hardwood — more than utility species, less than premium figured woods.

The species is not listed on CITES and is not among the tropical woods under trade restriction, so it is legally traded without special permits. As with all Amazonian timber, however, buyers should look for responsibly sourced, legally harvested, or FSC-certified material given the broader pressures of Amazon logging; verifiable provenance is the best safeguard. Its supply is generally considered stable, and it is often promoted as a sustainable, workable substitute for true walnut.