Plate 072 · branch with pompoms and ear-shaped pods IdentificationFour marks on the plate
- 1Black ear-shaped pod, c. 5 – 8 cm across.
- 2Pale pulp and seeds inside the pod.
- 3White pompom flowers full of stamens.
- 4Bipinnate leaf with small leaflets.
Easily confused with CebilAnadenanthera colubrina var. cebilKnobby trunk and a long flat pod. Tipu treeTipuana tipuOnce-pinnate leaf, yellow flowers and a winged samara. 072 / 100 · PLANTS · FABACEAELEAST CONCERN Ear Pod Tree
Enterolobium contortisiliquum
Pacará · Timbó
It is one of the largest trees of the Tucumán foothills, with a huge umbrella-shaped crown. Its black, coiled pod looks like an ear. The pulp contains saponins that foam in water and was once used as soap.
- Tree height
- up to c. 30 m
- Altitude
- c. 400 – 900 m
- Flowering
- spring
- Fruit
- black ear pod, stays closed
- Foothill forest
- Legume
- Ear-shaped pod
- Giant crown
Altitude rangeGiant of the foothills
Foothill forest It grows in Tucumán's foothill forest alongside the tipa blanca, up to c. 900 m. It also occurs in riverside woods.
EcologyA pod that stays shut
- Bees and other insectsvisit the flower pompoms
- Mammalseat fallen pods and spread the seeds
- River waterthe pod floats and travels on floods
- Plenty of lightgrows fast in clearings and edges
Because the pod never splits, its seeds rely on animals, water or the pod rotting on the ground.
Life cyclePompoms in spring, ears in winter
- Deciduous. It is bare in winter, when the black ears hang in view.
- Pompom flowers. Small white heads full of stamens.
- Hard seeds. They have a hard coat that lasts a long time in the soil.
Where to look in Tucumán- Sierra de San Javier
- Reserva Experimental Horco Molle
- Quebrada de Lules
- Río Los Sosa
- Parque Provincial La Florida