Thread: Breadboard with Cooktown Ironwood: Is it Poisonous

Hi Todd,

If I recall correctly, Cooktown Ironwood is also called Red Ebony and yes it is toxic. However, if it has been fully covered with a few coats of Poly, there may be no problem, though I would probably still stay away from it.

Regards,

Rob

All species of Erythrophleum seem to be pretty toxic. The main toxins they contain belong to a group of chemicals collectively known as 'cardiac glycosides'. As you might expect from a name like that, the toxins do nasty things to your ticker. The literature concentrates on bark & leaves, since these are what is most likely to be consumed by livestock, but several sources do say categorically, "all parts of the plant are toxic", so presumably the wood is too, though the toxins are likely to be present at lower levels than in bark & leaves.

I'd say that although the likelihood of doing yourself in by using Cooktown ironwood as a cutting board would be pretty remote (you would have to ingest quite a few grams of wood at a single sitting to have any effect), it might be prudent to leave it off your list of woods for cutting boards, especially those for sale or giving away. Keep it for wooden plane bodies, a job at which it excels!

Cheers,