# What are they called?



## chippin-in (Feb 7, 2018)

Do the little spikey things on the outside of a burl have a technical name? Or are they just "little spikey things"?

Thanks 
Robert

Reactions: Like 1


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## phinds (Feb 7, 2018)

calling @Mr. Peet


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## vegas urban lumber (Feb 7, 2018)

try this, found on the internet 

http://lubbockonline.com/life/2017-03-28/tree-lovers-and-woodworkers-there-s-beauty-burl


ODD STEM GROWTH

We do know, though, how burls develop. Along any stem are buds that can elongate to become shoots, and each of these shoots similarly has buds that can become shoots themselves. Obviously, not all buds on a plant stretch out; some remain dormant, at least for a while.

In the case of a burl, instead of dormant buds expanding into straight shoots, they grow inward, twisting and turning under the bark and never emerging as branches.

On the rare occasion when a shoot does elongate from a burl on a mature tree, the shoot usually expires from lack of sufficient light. Interestingly, redwood burls frequently sprout when cut from the tree and placed in a pan of water, almost as if the water reminds the cells that they can be shoots. On a tree, though, cells within a burl generally just keep dividing with no obvious purpose or benefit to the tree.

Reactions: Like 1 | Thank You! 1 | Informative 2


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## Mr. Peet (Feb 8, 2018)

phinds said:


> calling @Mr. Peet



Trev's link covered it to a degree. First, his link was decent, but misleading somewhat. The picture was a 'Bitternut hickory', that had bitternut canker, caused from a bacterial / fungal (insect / bird) issue. So yes, we could make something and it would be identified / sold as a burl, using the term burl as a catch all. It would most likely lack the eyes from adventitious buds so highly prized. It often has included bark, adding to the creative challenge. In the picture, it looks like it had an injury and the canker formed on the right side of it.

Burls do not need buds to develop. The common 'onion' burl lacks 'eyes' and can often be boring, other than expressing growth rings in widths far wider than normal. It can also express a starburst pattern of chatoyance. so not at all a loss.

Sometimes a branch stub can callus over and develop burl like bark and actually look like a burl. What a surprise when you cut in to find it was a branch. Sometimes it can be worked just as if it was a burl with decent results. Worth the effort.

As for buds that do emerge from burls, it is hypothesized that many of these buds have disrupted / corrupted DNA and lack the coding needed to survive. I'm sure this is partly true in some cases, but had seen experiments with letting these buds grow with optimum conditions. Sometimes they are just like water-sprouts, poor attachment, rapid growth and lack hardening off well. Sometimes shaded out can be true, but more often they just fail. I've seen the Redwood burl sprouting in a pot of water before, and likewise on Bald cypress, really cool.

The big thing I did not like, *buds do not grow inward*. They may grow offset, directionally reorienting over time, but they never grow inward. Burl material has been successfully grafted from birch to birch in Russia on the Masur birch. The project is still in action and results have not been publicly published yet.

Yes, the spiky things are almost always an adventitious bud...

Reactions: Thank You! 2 | Informative 2


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## vegas urban lumber (Feb 8, 2018)

Mr. Peet said:


> Trev's link covered it to a degree. First, his link was decent, but misleading somewhat. The picture was a 'Bitternut hickory', that had bitternut canker, caused from a bacterial / fungal (insect / bird) issue. So yes, we could make something and it would be identified / sold as a burl, using the term burl as a catch all. It would most likely lack the eyes from adventitious buds so highly prized. It often has included bark, adding to the creative challenge. In the picture, it looks like it had an injury and the canker formed on the right side of it.
> 
> Burls do not need buds to develop. The common 'onion' burl lacks 'eyes' and can often be boring, other than expressing growth rings in widths far wider than normal. It can also express a starburst pattern of chatoyance. so not at all a loss.
> 
> ...



thx for clearing those things up. i am no expert, but thought that link might get a conversation started as to reality, which the internet often is not.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


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