Strange growth on tree.

TreeSpecialist

It's a burl. Not a canker - not a gall.

Burls develop from axillary buds in the seedling redwood. This "basal burl"
(sometimes called a bud collar) persists, growing larger throughout the
life of the tree. The dormant stem tips continue slow growth and branching, but do not elongate. Unlike aerial stems, burl tissue grows downward. It forms an enlarged mass near the base of the tree above or below the soil surface. Burl tissue overgrows the root tissues at the base of the tree. Burls may also occur well up the main stem and on branches.Adventitious (hanging) roots often develop from burls, particularly near the soil, but no stems develop on redwood roots. "Stump" sprouts from the burl are often incorrectly called "root" sprouts, but there is no known instance in which stems have developed from root tissue.

Dormant buds rapidly elongate after the biochemical dominance of the main
stem is removed (such as when the tree is cut). In undisturbed forest
stands, a few trees may sprout from the burl. These sprouts, growing under
the canopy of the main stem, are at a physiological disadvantage and rarely reach large size. In this regard,they are like branches which eventually die when severely shaded by other branches.

They are basically benign tree tumors. They occur when a twig bud fails to
grow normally, differentiating into the tissues needed for forming a limb,
and instead just multiplies and multiplies and multiplies its bud cells.
That's how you get the round growth with an irregular grain structure.

Many burls will sprout when placed into water, forming normal-looking
shoots. Apparently the water saturation somehow helps them "remember" that they are, after all, limb buds.

Burls are very valuable to wood turners who will buy them by the pound.

Usually the burl forms as a response to some sort of injury or invasion that triggers a response in the cells surrounding the area, causing unusual growth - a little analagous to cancer in animals but does not spread beyond immediate area and usually doesn't harm the tree, also a little analagous to scar tissue.

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Eric Frei

Where did you get that from? Got a link?

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Alex Metzler

lol; hides behind couch!, what causes burl growth?!: insects, genetic mutation, or biotic or abiotic injuries? (how do u add a poll?)

Eric Frei

Te poll is there, above the thread up the top .... you can vote on what you reckon it is.

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Jeroen Shiran

tree specialist is spot on in his description! I agree 100%

Eric Frei

Tree Burls

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