Allen Ambrosia Maple

Ambrosia Maple is so named for ambrosia fungi, which is found in association with ambrosia beetles. The beetles bore into the trunk of the tree, bringing with them the ambrosia fungi, which subsequently stains and discolors the surrounding wood. The discoloration can be very similar to spalted maple, though with ambrosia maple, the discoloration is centered around the boring paths of the beetles, and their entrance holes can usually be seen. This also can create a challenge when finishing the wood as these holes usually need to be filled before a final finish is applied.

All of Salt Shaker Woodworks stock of this beautiful wood was purchased from a Mr. Allen. Mr. Allen, for whom I named this wood, was a woodworker himself until health issues forced him to stop. Like me, Mr. Allen spent years gathering wood for use in his shop but now needed to get rid of it. I bought all the stock he had, much of which was reclaimed like this Ambrosia Maple. I was very fortunate to find Mr. Allen when I did. He had been trying to sell his stock for a while with no takers and was on the verge of dumping or burning all of it.