November’s a good month to get reacquainted with trees. After the leaves are gone unusual features stand out.  That’s how I noticed these burls.

Burls are dense growths of deformed-grain wood and failed buds found on tree trunks or roots.  They’re a tree’s stress reaction to virus, fungus, bacteria or injury.

The wood in burls is sometimes beautiful but very dense and hard to work with.  Some species create particularly beautiful burl wood.  My hunch is that these two do not.

Above, a black locust.  Below, a white oak.

Take time this month to look at trees.

(photos by Kate St. John)