Burls
A burl (British "burr") is an outgrowth on a
tree. Burls are
often misunderstood. As it is the product of a
cambium, it
may not be compared to any phenomenon in animals or humans. A burl is a burl
only if it is filled with small
knots from
dormant buds. The famous
bird's-eye maple superficially resembles the wood of a burl but is something
else entirely. Some say that burls are near knots but cannot have knots
themselves.
Burls yield a very peculiar and highly
figured wood. There are a number of famous burls (each from a particular
species); these are highly valued and used as
veneers
in furniture, picture frames, household objects, automobile interior paneling
and trim, and
woodturning.
In some tree species, burls can grow to great size. Some of the largest occur
in redwoods (Sequoia
sempervirens); when moisture is present, these burls can grow new redwood
trees.
The world's largest and second-largest burls can be found in
Port McNeill, British Columbia.
One of the largest burls known to man was found around 1984 in the small town
of Tamworth, Australia. It stands 6.4 ft tall with an odd growth resembling a
trombone.
- Definition and pictures from
http://www.wikipedia.org
R
oberts Plywood stocks the following burls:
|
