This wood is named for the ambrosia fungi, which is associated with ambrosia beetles. The beetles dig tunnels into the Maple trees allowing the fungi to enter and spread. This fungi then discolors the Maple wood with streaks of greys, blacks and other colors. Their entrance holes can be seen on our Ambrosia Maple pieces, as filled in dots. The harvested trees are milled and processed; then kiln dried with a high heat treatment, helping to sterilize the wood for use.