Ambrosia Maple

Wood in the Acer genus with fungal exposure from the ambrosia wood boring beetle. The beetles leave little tunnels in the wood. Fungus follows the beetles path staining the holes black, then spreads throughout the wood. As the fungus starts to decay the wood the color changes including black squiggly lines, grey streaks, and brown streaks. How much discoloration and decay varies depending on when the tree was harvested and the wood dried. The natural, unaffected, Maple color is a creamy white. Portions that decay fully can be stark white with a crumbly dried foam texture. Once dry the fungi is inactive and will not continue to change the wood.

Ambrosia Maple can be as difficult as it is beautiful. When lumber shopping I have to balance interesting fungal stains with soundness of the wood. Any board that seems light weight gets immediately rejected, being unsound. When I find a nice board careful planning is necessary to work around the worst areas. I prefer to use wood in its natural state. I do not saturate it with plastic resins for stability. As a result all my waste shavings and dust can be composted instead of trashed.

See the Maple description for more about the wood and tree.
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