What causes this?

[capetrees]

I cut down a maple tree for a friend Saturday. Tree looked healthy, leaves were changing colors as usual. Tree was located next to a driveway and almost from the same stump as an oak right next to it as you can see from the pic (to the right of the stump). That oak looked healthy as well. The maple came down as a hazard to the driveway area.

Any insight to the greyish areas in the wood?

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Copied from Reddit:

I am a furniture builder and not an arborist but I am almost certain that is the tree’s natural response to an Ambrosia Beetle attacks. This wood is popular among wood turners and furniture builders, especially if their is a lot of discoloration. Google Ambrosia Maple or Ghost Maple to see pictures. Interestingly , the discoloration is the tree’s natural response and is not caused by fungus or disease like in other tree species.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

"Ambrosia Maple"

https://www.google.com/search?q=amb...igWYAwCSBwYwLjEzLjGgB6NI&sclient=gws-wiz-serp

Hope you didn't burn it in the brush pile. "Highly valuable" from the looks of it.

 

[TheJollyLogger]

That's caused by a total lack of a face cut... very dangerous... oh you mean the spalting... that's just a fungal discoloration.

 

[capetrees]

That's caused by a total lack of a face cut... very dangerous... oh you mean the spalting... that's just a fungal discoloration.

I know. The maple was roped up into the oak behind it and we had to weaken the maple to redirect it on a controlled rope assisted fall away from the landscaping in the front yard.

 

[ATH]

Yeah, I've understood that to be ambrosia beetle. Loggers call it "wormy maple". Almost every single Silver maple harvested out of the woods around here looks like that. I've always learned that ambrosia beetle is a pest of stressed trees and is kinda a last attack before death...but that doesn't fit with what we see. Many trees healthy and thriving that look like that.

Depends on who is buying it...either a defect (usually) or highly sought after in those logs.

 

[dwaugh]

That "spalting"or what ever the term is has a nice look for making stuff. Seems to be a beetle and a fungus, but I'm not knowledgeable enough to comment on that.
About five years ago I was doing more wood working and there was a local sawmill shop (guy with a mini mill) that opened up selling live edge slabs and all regular local cut lumber, I bought some of the spalted maple and got 80% of the way to finishing this little box with a drawer (all with hand tools). Sadly they closed.
The top opening is lined with aromatic cedar that I got at the local shop, not sure if that grown in Ohio, but they had some boards of it.







The lid seen above shows the classic pattern of the spalting, but I need to trim and thin it to fit it to box.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

That "spalting"or what ever the term is has a nice look for making stuff. Seems to be a beetle and a fungus, but I'm not knowledgeable enough to comment on that.
About five years ago I was doing more wood working and there was a local sawmill shop (guy with a mini mill) that opened up selling live edge slabs and all regular local cut lumber, I bought some of the spalted maple and got 80% of the way to finishing this little box with a drawer (all with hand tools). Sadly they closed.View attachment 1212055
The top opening is lined with aromatic cedar that I got at the local shop, not sure if that grown in Ohio, but they had some boards of it.



View attachment 1212054


View attachment 1212056
The lid seen above shows the classic pattern of the spalting, but I need to trim and thin it to fit it to box.

Nice.
Cute doggie, too.

 

[dwaugh]

Nice.
Cute doggie, too.

Thanks, like you posted before, the wood can be really desirable for certain applications.