Dictionary:

burl

  (bûrl)

1. A knot, lump, or slub in yarn or cloth.
2. 1. A large rounded outgrowth on the trunk or branch of a tree.
   2. The wood cut from such an outgrowth, often used decoratively as a veneer.

To dress or finish (cloth) by removing knots, lumps, slubs, or loose threads.

[Middle English burle, from Old French bourle, tuft of wool, diminutive of bourre, coarse wool, from Late Latin burra, shaggy garment.]

1. An abnormal growth or protuberance on a tree. Also called knur, knurl.
2. Wood veneer cut from burls.

Growths on trees produce some of the most prized veneers. Usually available in smallish, often defective sheets, burls feature swirling grain around clusters of dormant buds, rings or eyes. Varieties include "cluster burl" or "cat's paw burl". Redwood, oak, ash, madrone, elm and walnut are common burl species, exotic burls include mappa, thoya and imboya.

A burl (British "burr") is a rounded outgrowth on a tree trunk or branch that is filled with small knots from dormant buds. Burls are the product of a cambium.

The famous birdseye maple superficially resembles the wood of a burl but is something else entirely.

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.

Gallery

Maple burl, not to be confused with bird's-eye maple.	A bowl made from a plumtree burl by Maynard Bauman of St. Jacobs, Ontario, Canada.	A giant burl near Solduc Falls in Olympic National Park.	An unusually large spruce burl on display at the University of Alberta.
A burl the size of a refrigerator on the trunk of a Coast Redwood.

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