Trametes Versicolor, or turkey tail mushrooms, are one such fungus that can create white pigmentation in spalted wood - but only if they don’t fruit.įinally, there are brown rot fungi, like Fistulina hepatica (beefsteak fungus). This is rare, as white pigmentation must be highly concentrated in the hyphae of the organism for it to show. However, some white rot varieties can create a similar visual effect. These mushrooms love to eat lignin, and the result is like a bleach stain pattern, less colorful than what pigmentation fungi create. Pigmentation fungi are primarily composed of the unclassified “imperfect” fungi group as well as ascomycetes. There are many types of spalting fungi, but they fall into only a few categories.įirst, there are pigmentation fungi, which grow and produce extracellular pigments internally within wood. Similarly, woodworkers looking to induce this punky pattern in non-natural methods must create and maintain these conditions and keep the temperature warm. Most natural spalting occurs in dead trees since decomposition leads to ample nitrogen and oxygen levels, a high moisture content, and an abundance of natural sugars. Instead, it takes a few conditions for it to occur. Spalting doesn’t happen to any old piece of wood.
Instead, the fungal colony extracts nutrients from the biomaterial, leaving colors, dark lines, dots, and other patterns in the wood. It occurs when hungry fungi take over a piece of wood but don’t fruit. It’s different from the burl wood pattern (a growth unrelated to fungi) or the bore beetle patterning of ambrosia maple. Spalting is a type of pattern that occurs in wood grain due to the activity of fungi. But what is spalted wood, and how do you use it? What is spalting? Spalted wood is a trendy material that craftspeople worldwide are gravitating towards as its popularity has risen. If you’re interested in woodworking, interior design, or instrument making, you may have heard the term “spalted” before.
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