Burled figure at the base of a tree?

[John K Jordan]

We often are looking for burls, but I once accidentally discovered an incredible source of wood with burled figure in what I thought was an unlikely place. Maybe everyone knew of this but me!

We had a big oak tree die and break off in a storm, leaving just the lower part above the ground. It looked much like this one:



For lack of a more refined term, I called the growth at the ground a “buttress”. I cut into what remained of the broken tree and found the most incredible figure! The figure was all the way from near the center to the circumference. I made a number of small things and some bowls from the wood I salvaged.

I don’t know if this “defect” is common or due to some condition of the soil here but I’ve found several of these trees on my property, all in the same section of woods. Don’t know if it’s limited to oaks or present in other species, but I’ve only seen it in oak here. If any need to come down, I’lll probably have the tree cut above the wide section, dig up the stump and roots with the excavator, and see what’s inside.

Anybody have any experience with this or see trees like this in your area?

JKJ

 

[Mike Colley]

I have heard it called compression grain , I have seen it at the base of a flaired butt of bigger trees. Don't know if that is what you have?

 

[Jon Rista]

I have sometimes heard people call the entire base part of a tree (the buttress?) and the root ball right under the base, "the burl"... I thought I'd heard someone say that being in contact with the ground, and bacteria and fungi in that ground, often leaves that part of the tree highly figured? I don't know if this is limited to certain species, but, I do recall that some people just seem to call that lower/just underground part of a tree as THE BURL. Not "a burl" as in a fungal infection of the tree that leads to highly figured/eyed growth, those are "burls"...but this part of the tree. It may have been some videos by Cook Woods, who I used to buy a lot of wood from (expensive wood), where I have heard this the most.

 

[JeffSmith]

Root burl is commonly harvested here in the Pacific Northwest. Both Madrone and Big Leaf Maple have lovely root burl with swirling grain from slightly above soil surface to below. I don’t recall ever seeing a burl (growth type) anywhere else on madrone/arbutis trees. There’s four madrone trees on our property - I’ll look again. BL Maples will have burl growths, but in my experience, the root burl is often more impressively figured.

 

[Jon Rista]

Root burl is commonly harvested here in the Pacific Northwest. Both Madrone and Big Leaf Maple have lovely root burl with swirling grain from slightly above soil surface to below. I don’t recall ever seeing a burl (growth type) anywhere else on madrone/arbutis trees. There’s four madrone trees on our property - I’ll look again. BL Maples will have burl growths, but in my experience, the root burl is often more impressively figured.

Ah, so root burl is a thing!

 

[hughie]

Root burl are quite common

What are Wood Burls? A Complete Guide - Carved

When you think about wood, your mind likely pictures a clean cut piece of 4x8 wood, the kind you’d find in a home improvement store. Then you imagine the smell – the rich, earthy smell that wafts throughout the store. This is wood as most people know it – cut into hundreds of planks from its...

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Getting close to the roots

 

[John K Jordan]

I think I still have one manzanita root burl left from a bunch I bought a decade ago. I turned some and gave some away. If I still have it, anyone local who wants it can come get it. I’d have to look first and see if it’s still where I think it is!

Beautiful, rich colors, gnarly figure, voids.

JKJ

 

[Dean Center]

For clarification, the 'swelling' at the base of most trees, right at ground level, is horticulturally known as the 'root crown,' or sometimes the 'root collar'. Sometimes it's just below the soil level and often it protrudes a little above. It is not a burl. But maybe the root burls under discussion here are in that area, when they occur.

 

[robo hippy]

There is a California Sycamore in one local grocery store's parking lot, and it has a "stump" burl, as in burl up 5 or so foot high and totally gnarly. The rest of the tree is pretty straight. I always called the flare at the bottom of a tree "buttress" because of how it flares out. One spoon carver I know wants that part for ladles and spoons that are angled at the bottom since he rives the blanks out before carving them. This part is frequently highly figured.

robo hippy

 

[Richard Coers]

When I was harvesting turning wood from the municipal lot, I took every buttress flare there was. From tight curl to rope curl was the reward. This was one of the best curl I found.

 

[stu senator]

Right outside my front door, however it's a condo so ai have no control over it. Gumbo Limbo tree. about 2 ft dia. mostly root but the ball on top?

 

[Ed Sandle]

We often are looking for burls, but I once accidentally discovered an incredible source of wood with burled figure in what I thought was an unlikely place. Maybe everyone knew of this but me!

We had a big oak tree die and break off in a storm, leaving just the lower part above the ground. It looked much like this one:

View attachment 75235

For lack of a more refined term, I called the growth at the ground a “buttress”. I cut into what remained of the broken tree and found the most incredible figure! The figure was all the way from near the center to the circumference. I made a number of small things and some bowls from the wood I salvaged.

I don’t know if this “defect” is common or due to some condition of the soil here but I’ve found several of these trees on my property, all in the same section of woods. Don’t know if it’s limited to oaks or present in other species, but I’ve only seen it in oak here. If any need to come down, I’lll probably have the tree cut above the wide section, dig up the stump and roots with the excavator, and see what’s inside.

Anybody have any experience with this or see trees like this in your area?

JKJ

All comes down to what you are exposed to I guess. A friend I was mentoring in woodturning showed up at my shop one day with some beautiful walnut wood burls, or so I thought they were burls at first from a vacation he had in California. Then he told me they were just the bases of the trees that were mainly harvested for Gun stocks. While I don't usually turn walnut, I kept a half dozen pieces he offered, then over time helped him turn a few pieces for his home decor. I've got a really nice 6"ish bowl I turned of it and will try to get a pic of it to post.
He told me they would cut the tree for lumber, then come in with an excavator to pop out the base and root ball, then wash all the dirt and stone away.

 

[Ed Sandle]

Here is a couple quick pics of thst piece of walnut root burl.

 

[John K Jordan]

Beautiful!

Some of the best walnut I've ever had was from a walnut grove in the US where english walnut had been grafted to native black walnut root stock. The pieces someone gave me were from probably 60 years ago and almost 3' in diameter, cut from near the ground. The center had rotted out and killed the tree but there was plenty of wood left, all with killer figure. This is one thing I made from a piece.



I've cut the rest up into blocks and keep them hidden from woodturning visitors.

JKJ

 

[Ed Sandle]

Really like that John.