# Burls



## Shagee415 (Nov 15, 2013)

Was wanting to ask why does a burl grow on a tree. Is it because of a injury to tree, fungus or? Might be stupid question but I don't know. LOL

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## Kevin (Nov 15, 2013)



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## DKMD (Nov 15, 2013)

(Since you brought popcorn, Kevin... I grabbed a couple of drinks)


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## rdnkmedic (Nov 15, 2013)

I'm here too. Kevin, pass the popcorn please.


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## Shagee415 (Nov 15, 2013)

Looks like we are getting a crowd. Lol.


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## rdnkmedic (Nov 15, 2013)

Somebody's gonna need to get more drinks and popcorn.


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## SDB777 (Nov 15, 2013)

Well try starting with this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burl

Then this 'bookmark' is always fun to look at: http://blakelyburltree.com/burl.htm


Those are mine.....I can't eat popcorn anymore(it wiggles down between my teeth and the gum line and causes problems). But I'll watch too






Scott (but I can suck down a candy bar) B

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## Shagee415 (Nov 15, 2013)

Txs I checked out pages. Now I just need to find a fungus to inject into a couple trees and I'll be set.

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## justturnin (Nov 15, 2013)

My understanding is there are two types of Burls. One not being accepted as burl by some but it is by me. The most widely accepted one from my understanding is a Fungus/Disease caused burl. That will grow just about anywhere. Possibly caused by damage to the tree allowing the disease in? I don't know. The other is a Canker Burl, caused by damage or pruning where the tree mends itself. I have some burls that are from pruning where the tree kept popping up branches in the same spot and they would grow a little and get cut. Caused some really crazy grain. Some folks will say this is not a burl but I disagree. It is an abnormality in the tree that caused this. Many times these will have some amazing colors in them to go with the figure like the Water Oak Burl I have. I accept both as burls and think both have their own special qualities.

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## Mike1950 (Nov 15, 2013)

I have absolutely no clue- not all that sure that anybody else does either. Seems like some trees burl real easy- BLM for one and some don't. I do know for sure that I sure do like em!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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## NCWoodArt (Nov 15, 2013)

Burls grow on trees because God Loves wood turners, and some flat workers.

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## Cody Killgore (Nov 15, 2013)

I read something the other day about burls that I had never read before. It was from an article about someone stealing a burl from an old growth redwood tree. I was thinking either it's true or they are making up something to make people thing that cutting burls is bad.

Quoting...
"Tree burls have a purpose. A burl is bud tissue which remains dormant until some kind of damage occurs to the tree trunk, causing the burl tissue to begin to grow another limb upwards which sometimes overcomes the parent tree in size and age. In addition, burls often have root sprouts growing downward from their bases, helping the tree survive against high winds and floods and providing the growing tree with additional nutrients from the soil."

Came from this article:
http://www.arcataeye.com/2013/07/another-redwood-burl-theft-1500-reward-offered/


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## Mike1950 (Nov 15, 2013)

Cody Killgore said:


> I read something the other day about burls that I had never read before. It was from an article about someone stealing a burl from an old growth redwood tree. I was thinking either it's true or they are making up something to make people thing that cutting burls is bad.
> 
> Quoting...
> "Tree burls have a purpose. A burl is bud tissue which remains dormant until some kind of damage occurs to the tree trunk, causing the burl tissue to begin to grow another limb upwards which sometimes overcomes the parent tree in size and age. In addition, burls often have root sprouts growing downward from their bases, helping the tree survive against high winds and floods and providing the growing tree with additional nutrients from the soil."
> ...


Not sure but I think most redwood burls are root burls- so I can see how they would have roots. Burls 30' up in a tree sure do not have roots.

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## Treecycle Hardwoods (Nov 15, 2013)

rdnkmedic said:


> Somebody's gonna need to get more drinks and popcorn.


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## Shagee415 (Nov 15, 2013)

Txs for all the replies. I think I'm gonna go on a burl hunt. Lol

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## SDB777 (Nov 15, 2013)

Not sure how or why folks have decided that the over growing of a branch that was cut off has become a 'burl'? I've cut into a LOT of these and never have seen any 'eyes' or whorls...(doesn't mean it can't happen, just saying I've never seen it)


Guess if I was to cut every limb damaged pocket off all the trees I come in contact with everyday, it would really put a huge dent in the 'profit margins' of some 'burl dealers'.....I could actually cut maybe (6)six 24yard truck loads a week of these things.
Would I do this? Nah, but I wouldn't call a damaged overgrowth a burl in order to charge more money for it either.

I know someone is going to get upset about this post, but I am just voicing an opinion.....nothing more.



Scott (pile it on, I'm a big boy) B

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## Treecycle Hardwoods (Nov 15, 2013)

I was taught by an arborist (also a woodworker) that a canker burl sometimes forms when a tree lives thru a canker disease. Canker is a dangerous disease for trees which often lead to death so for one to live is rare. Often these types of burls have no eyes and just some swirly curly grain. Eye burls are the only type of burl some people acknowledge. Studies have been done as to the cause. I met a lady who works for the UW-green bay college biology dept. and studies burls almost to obsession. She wrote her thesis on burls and shared the paper with me last fall. It was full of footnotes and reference sitings from studies done in the 50's 60's and 70's. I would be very curious to know if any modern studies have been done as to the cause of eye burl. One can't rule out disease but it would be hard to pin it down as the only cause as well. I have seen burls form as a result of damage/stress. Good examples of this is fencing, and mechanical damage like pruning. I have an elm tree that needs constant pruning at the base otherwise it ends up looking like a bush. All the material that is growing and mashing together could be considered a burl, however, I will wait and see what it looks like when it comes time to remove the tree 10-20 years down the road. In the mean time I will keep helping it grow that funky patch at the bottom and keep my fingers crossed it turns out cool!

Chris had referenced scared over branches from pruning. While I acknowledge you can get some cool grain patterns I have never called them anything more than a pruning scars. They can produce cool bowls if the healing process is complete so you don't end up with a funnel.


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## ssgmeader (Nov 16, 2013)

Imagine a branch which is given the wrong signals on a cellular level and loses its genetic programming during its developmental stage. Instead of growing vertically as the main stem or growing horizontally as a tree limb, the branch just continues to grow in and around itself until it becomes a bulge limited in size only by the trees life span. The would-be branch is formed of lignen tubors and grows as hardened tissue forming twists and knots rather than adhering to any genetic code.

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## sbwertz (Nov 21, 2013)

justturnin said:


> My understanding is there are two types of Burls. One not being accepted as burl by some but it is by me. The most widely accepted one from my understanding is a Fungus/Disease caused burl. That will grow just about anywhere. Possibly caused by damage to the tree allowing the disease in? I don't know. The other is a Canker Burl, caused by damage or pruning where the tree mends itself. I have some burls that are from pruning where the tree kept popping up branches in the same spot and they would grow a little and get cut. Caused some really crazy grain. Some folks will say this is not a burl but I disagree. It is an abnormality in the tree that caused this. Many times these will have some amazing colors in them to go with the figure like the Water Oak Burl I have. I accept both as burls and think both have their own special qualities.



The mulberry I use is an extreme form of what you call a canker burl. Every winter all the branches are cut off the tree back to just a few main limbs (pollarding). After a while, huge knobs of scar tissue form on the ends of the limbs and produce the most amazing grain patterns and colors. Just recently I acquired yet another type of "burl" formed by mistletoe. I had a piece of mesquite with a 5" growth where mistletoe had attacked the tree. It resulted in a very pretty burl-like pattern. 

My "Mesqui-toe" pen.

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## El Guapo (Nov 25, 2013)

WOW! I had never thought about what a piece of timber infected with mistletoe would look like! That is schamazing!


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## Tclem (Nov 25, 2013)

After 10 months of turning I'm finally getting to cut down a cherry with a " all the way around the tree" burl. 
Tony

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## El Guapo (Nov 25, 2013)

I would like a piece of that to analyze. Maybe something about the size of a pen.


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## Tclem (Nov 25, 2013)

I'm hoping to have it cut down next week as soon as I get a day off from work and I'll make sure you get a blank to "analyze" and let me know if it's any good. Lol
Tony

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## DKMD (Nov 25, 2013)

Tclem said:


> After 10 months of turning I'm finally getting to cut down a cherry with a " all the way around the tree" burl.
> Tony


Hopefully, it's an "all the way to the center" kind of burl tree... Fingers crossed for you.

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## Schroedc (Nov 25, 2013)

I got the honor of helping a friend use up the pieces form a ball burl on a cherry tree that was over 3 feet in diameter. I keep telling him the next one i'll cut it up and he can have the scraps :)


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## Mike Jones (Nov 26, 2013)

Mike1950 said:


> Not sure but I think most redwood burls are root burls- so I can see how they would have roots. Burls 30' up in a tree sure do not have roots.



To add to the confusion (discussion) redwoods don't have root burls. Those massive trees, however, often have massive roots that nearly always have lots of wild figure, and some of that figure will resemble "buds". They are called redwood burls by many folks that have them for sale. They do not have 'tree' bark. Along the California coast, gift shops catering to tourists sold small redwood burls that had been sprouted in a pan of water. Those are pretty rare in this day and age. They are cut from tree trunks and display 'tree' bark.

I was told that root burls, like the manzanita and madrone from out here, are nutrient storehouses and are part of the species survival mechanisms. Forest fires, hard freezes, etc., that might kill the above ground parent, would leave a viable plant undergound to grow anew. Manzanitas with root burls are just one of some dozen or so types of manzanita, and are most commonly found in a higher elevation zone. I have seen a bazillion, eleventy-jillion grey-leaf manzanitas with nary a burl above or below ground.

Lot of tree species have a 'root crown' that is also often called a burl. They may or may not be "burl", as it is not so likely that they are caused by infestations, but those crowns can provide some wild and beautiful grain patterns.

The only burl that isn't a burl that doesn't have "extra" value to me as a turner is the pruning overgrowth. I've heard forestry guys refer to them as "shoulder wounds" and invariably, they have a punky or rotten center. I've seen many of these on white oaks (aka blue oaks) that are huge---3 foot diameters---from where a large branch was cut or broken off. I remember cutting one of those big ones and opened up the nest of a hoard of biting red ants!

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## ssgmeader (Nov 28, 2013)

Tclem said:


> After 10 months of turning I'm finally getting to cut down a cherry with a " all the way around the tree" burl.
> Tony


 
A girdled burled


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## LemonadeJay (Nov 29, 2013)

Went for a hike today with two of my ki ds , my wife and two dogs. Not sure if these are burls or not but we spotted these on our walk. For some reason my images are coming through sideways but you get the idea.


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