Find Your Store
Expansive, eye-catching, and sustainably sourced, parota is a stunning tropical hardwood known for its wide slabs, dramatic grain, and rich golden-brown tones. We offer premium parota lumber and live edge slabs ideal for statement furniture, tables, countertops, and architectural features that showcase natural beauty on a grand scale. Native to Central America, parota (also known as Guanacaste) is appreciated for its bold grain patterns, interlocking texture, and excellent workability despite its size. It’s lighter in weight than many other hardwoods, making it easier to handle for large-scale projects, and it finishes beautifully with a warm, glossy sheen. As a proudly Canadian company, Windsor Plywood is your trusted source for hard-to-find and exotic wood species, supported by expert, one-on-one service. Whether you're designing a custom dining table or a live edge feature wall, parota delivers visual impact, sustainability, and craftsmanship in every slab.
0 products
Frequently Asked Questions
What is parota and what is it used for?
Parota (Enterolobium cyclocarpum), also called ear tree, is a large Central American hardwood with a warm, medium brown colour, wide grain, and often spectacular live edge and figured slab availability. It is used for live edge dining tables, entry and accent furniture, natural-edge slabs, countertops, and large-format decorative pieces where its figure and broad board widths are the main appeal.
What makes parota popular for live edge table applications?
Parota grows to very large diameters, allowing single-slab tabletops of widths impossible with most other species. The grain is attractive with open pores and moderate figure. The warm brown colour works with a wide range of interior palettes. It is also more cost-accessible than walnut live edge slabs of comparable size, making it a popular choice for large dining table applications.
What finish is suitable for parota tabletops?
Parota's open grain benefits from a grain-filling step before a high-gloss finish. For live edge tables, epoxy pours are sometimes used to fill voids and cracks as well as the open grain before finishing. Penetrating oil finishes and hard wax oils that enhance the natural colour without a thick film are also popular. Polyurethane varnish provides the most durable protective surface for dining table use.
Is parota dimensionally stable as a tabletop?
Parota is moderately stable but like all large solid wood slabs, it will move seasonally with humidity changes. Proper kiln drying to appropriate moisture content before fabrication and allowing slabs to acclimatize to the installation environment reduce movement. Tabletop attachment methods that allow seasonal movement while maintaining a flat top surface are important for long-term performance.
Does Windsor Plywood carry parota?
Windsor Plywood carries parota slabs and lumber as a specialty product subject to current availability. Slab inventory is highly variable by shipment. Contact your local Windsor Plywood branch to confirm current parota availability and to discuss the sizes and figures available for your project.