Wood Species Guide
Mango
Mangifera indica
Also called: Mango Wood, Mangowood, Spalted Mango
What Mango looks like
Fresh heartwood is a light golden tan to pale brown. Mango spalts readily, which adds black zone lines and streaks of pink, gray and yellow. Figured curl shows up often near crotches.
Grain and texture
Grain is straight to interlocked with a medium to coarse texture and a natural luster. Spalted pieces can be soft in spots.
Working Mango: planing, cutting and gluing
Works fairly easily but interlocked or curly grain can tear out, so take light passes. Spalted wood can be punky; stabilize soft spots or treat with a penetrating sealer before machining. Glues well.
Finishing Mango: oil, film finishes and epoxy
Takes oil and film finishes well, and a clear finish makes the spalt lines pop. Soft spalted areas soak up finish unevenly, so seal first. With epoxy, a seal coat keeps the punky areas from pulling resin and releasing bubbles.
Durability, stability and Florida humidity
Not durable outdoors and prone to insect attack and rot, which is why it spalts so easily. Dry it quickly after cutting. Indoors and finished, it is reasonably stable.
Shop notes from our Fort Myers shop
South Florida has a lot of mango trees, and a downed one can give beautiful spalted slabs if it is milled within weeks rather than months. Wait too long and the spalt turns to rot. The sap of the living tree is related to poison ivy chemistry, so wear gloves when handling green wood and bark. It makes great charcuterie boards, small tables and wall art.
Common uses for Mango
Furniture, ukuleles and guitars, cutting and serving boards, turning, veneer and small live-edge tables.
Sustainability and CITES status
Not listed in the CITES Appendices. Rated Data Deficient by the IUCN because wild populations are hard to separate from cultivated trees. Most mango lumber comes from orchard trees past fruit-bearing age.
Safety and toxicity
- Skin irritation
- Sensitizer (allergy builds with exposure)
- Respiratory / asthma
Mango is a cousin of poison ivy, and its sap and green wood carry related compounds that can cause rashes, especially in people already sensitive to poison ivy. Dried wood is milder, but the dust can still irritate.
- In the shop
- Gloves with green wood and sap; dust collection + mask; avoid spalted dust
- Food contact
- Use with care for cutting boards, bowls and utensils
General information, not medical advice. See a doctor if you have a reaction.
Mango is in the same family as poison ivy and cashew. Sap and green wood can cause skin rashes in sensitive people, and the dust has been reported as an irritant. Wear gloves with fresh wood and use dust control.
Mango in stock now
Ask us. We can often source it.
We don't have Mango listed online right now, but new slabs and lumber come in all the time and not everything makes it to the website. Tell us what you're building and we'll check our racks and suppliers.
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