The different colors in the two pics are a good illustration of why I started this web site. Two views of a bowl made from ambrosia maple that has some curl to it. Top and bottom of a bowl that is particularly heavy in streaks bowl of wood that is both curly and ambrosia HUGE enlargements are present.Ī very nice wood find for the owner. Two views of a bowl - both levels of enlargement are presentīowl shot at a woodworking show. Various bowls - ambrosia maple is a favorite of turners because of the striking results such as these Guitar back with bookmatched ambrosia maple - WOW, just wow ! Speaker enclosure and a closeup of the rear of the left speaker - this appears to be ambrosia planks, not veneerīelt buckle made from curly ambrosia maple Listed as figured ambrosia but doesn't even look like ambrosia of any kind to me, just a crappy spalt (but it IS curly)īookmatched curly planks and closeup - I find the orange color highly dubious but cannot say for sure that is has to be false. Listed as curly, but I can't see a hint of curl from this pic and the color is not believable Turning block with color that is not believable - could be due to a wax coating Turning stock end grain with both levels of enlargement present Pen blanks that I believe have been moistened in some way - these were listed as ambrosia, but I don't see it I think they are spalted and the vendor is confused.īowl blank (two views) that is listed as spalted although the spalting is quite weak, especially by the standards of maple, which spalts quite impressivelyīowl blank from curly maple that has the ambrosia markings. Turning blanks that I belive have been moistened or waxed - at any rate, this is not the natural color of the wood, which is likely to be much less orange/goldenīowl blanks with some particularly dark streaks This is ambrosia maple, which has holes made by the ambrosia beetle. Wormy maple is maple that has worm tracks in it. Plank listed as wormy maple, which is actually a misnomer. Large ambrosia maple slabs (the longest is 8 feet) and some closeupsĪ particularly clean ambrosia maple plank and a closeupĬurly maple that has the ambrosia markingsīookmatched planks not identified as curly, but they clearly areīookmatched planks listed as ambrosia soft maple Veneer sheet and closeup sold to me as wormy red maple veneerĪ pair of ambrosia maple slabs and various closeups Spalted ambrosia maple scales loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.įinished table top shot in a wood store. Misc planks photographed at lumber yards. Side grain closeups of the 3 planks above These are freshly sanded.Įnd grain of the 3 small planks directly aboveĮnd grain closeups of the pieces directly aboveĪndother end grain closeup and the associated END GRAIN UPDATE Note that these appear more white, but that's just because the large plank had a mild patina and was a little dirty. Some small planks cut from the big one directly above. NOTE: these pics were all taken in very bright incandescent lighting ("soft white" at 2700K)Ĭolors will vary under other lighting conditions The number of beetle holes will vary from very few up to what looks like a major infestation, as you can see from the pics on this page. This kind of insect attack / wood figure is not limited to maple, but that is the wood in which it is most well known. It is these streaks which are so desirable to woodturners as it produces a beautiful pattern in the wood which is clearly seen when the wood is turned on a lathe. The fungus is eaten by the beetle and then gets into the tree sap when the beetle eats into the tree, and it spreads both through the worm-hole and up and down in the tree (carried along by the sap) and causes discoloring of the wood in streaks. I do not know for sure if it is limited to any particular ones of the 60+ species of the genus Acer that are sold as various types of maple, but I do know that it occurs in big-leaf (aka red) maple (Acer rubrum) and that it is often listed as "wormy soft maple" (and Acer rubrum is one of the two main maples listed as "soft maple", the other one being Acer saccharinum) so generally I would expect ambrosia maple to be Acer rubrum or Acer saccharinum, but I doubt it is limited to those two species. "Ambrosia" is a term applied to maple when it has been infested by the ambrosia beetle. Ambrosia maple open main page for all woods open page 2 for articlesĪcer spp.
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