Birds-eye

Most notably maple but also anigre and a few others, can exist with large numbers of small round "defects" that do indeed resemble the eyes of birds. The density of the eyes ranges from sparse to dense.

Burl

A burl is a wart like, deformed growth on the trunk or root and sometimes even the branches of a tree, caused by (1) an injury to, or (2) an infection in the tree just under the bark, or (3) the existence of an unformed bud which has all the genetic material necessary to grow a full branch, or even a whole tree, but which for some reason did not grow properly. The result is that the tree cells divide and grow excessively and unevenly. Continued growth follows the contour of the original deformity, producing all manner of twists, swirls and knots in the wood fiber. Usually, this results in wood that has a spectacular pattern that can be used to great effect in woodworking, and sometimes it is also accompanied by the creation in the burl of dormant buds which create "eyes" that make the burl even more spectacular when worked.

Crotch

Crotches are an extreme form of compressed wood. They are caused by the forces exerted within the tree to support a main branch where it joins the trunk, and of course the bigger the branch, the more the compression. The compression decreases as one moves away from the point where the branch meets the trunk, so crotch wood frequently exhibits an extreme degree of grain variation. The compression process that strengthens the tree so it can support the branch causes the wood fibers to twist and compress, creating various figures and grains that can be very beautiful.

Curly

Contortions in grain direction sometimes reflect light differently as one moves down the grain and this creates an appearance of undulating waves known as curly grain. Many species develop this figure, maple being a very common example. An extreme form of curly figure is called "fiddleback".

Flat sawn lumber

In softwoods, a method of sawing lumber where the log is cut tangential to the growth rings. Also called plain sawn.

Mottle

Sometimes, wavy grain in a wood combines with spiral, interlocked grain to produce a wrinkled, blotchy figure known as mottle, which would be called "curly" if the curl lines were not so broken up. Anigre, makore, and sapele frequently exhibit all kinds of mottle figure, and it also occurs in mahogany, koa, bubinga, African satinwood and some other species.

Pomelle

Pomelle is a type of wood figure that resembles a puddle surface during a light rain: a dense pattern of small rings enveloping one another. Some say this has a "suede" or "furry" look. It's usually found in extremely large trees of African species like sapele, bubinga and makore.

Quarter sawn lumber

A method of cutting lumber where the annual rings are relatively perpendicular to the face of the board. Quarter-sawn lumber tends to be more dimensionally stable than other forms of lumber, such as flat sawn. Quarter sawing is used to bring out the medullar rays or grain fleck in Oak.

Quilted

Quilted figure, with its blistering and bulging looks three-dimensional when seen at its billowy best. Most commonly found in maple, it also occurs in mahogany, moabi, myrtle, and sapele, and less often in other species.

Ray

Radiating outward from the pith to the bark of a tree are a set of "ray cells" that carry nutrients laterally through the tree. In some woods, these are very pronounced and a quarter sawn board from such a tree will look very different from a flat cut board from the same tree because in the quarter sawn board the surface of the board will contain significant swaths of ray cells. Oak, both red and white, are common woods that exhibit this phenomenon, but the real stunner is lacewood.

Rift sawn lumber

Rift-sawing at a 30-degree or greater angle to the growth rings produces narrow boards with accentuated vertical or “straight” grain patterns. Rift-sawn boards are often favored for fine furniture and other applications where matching grain is important. This type of lumber is available in limited quantities and species.

Spalting

Spalting is a dark vein caused by a pattern of bacterial rot in dead wood that once stabilized often looks like a black ink line of varying thickness and great irregularity drawn through the wood.