To most people, a tree burl wouldn’t look like anything special – in fact, these rounded growths found on tree trunks and branches are actually minor deformities.
But burls have become big business due to their popularity with woodworkers who covet their intricate and unique grain. They are used to make products such as bowls, frames, sculptures and interior paneling for luxury cars. Amazingly, they can sell for up to $300 per pound.
They are so profitable, in fact, that last year a rash of burl burglaries broke out around Boston. Two men with chainsaws were spotted in public parks sawing burls off of live trees. They allegedly planned to sell the burls for drug money. The men were ultimately arrested and charged with destruction of property.
Similar problems have occurred in Seattle and California, where removing a burl from a redwood has been made a criminal offense.
Of course, many people buy and sell burls without brandishing a chainsaw at their local park. Some are purchased from loggers and come from already-downed trees.
But when burls are removed from live trees, legally or illegally, it’s the trees that suffer. Despite their disfigured appearance, burls are usually not harmful. Removing them, on the other hand, can cause rot that slowly kills a tree over time.
Removing a small growth from a tree trunk may seem innocuous. No negative consequences may immediately appear. But for the price of a fancy wooden salad bowl, a decades-old tree could ultimately lose its life. However beautiful their grain, trees need their burls far more than we do.
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Web Links
Dorchester man arrested in theft of burls
Thieves Get Rich On Prized Tree Burls — Base Of Madrone Trees In Demand For Veneer
http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19980329&slug=2742190
2 Arrested For Swiping Valuable Tree Parts From Boston Parks
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2012/10/03/burl-bandits-swiping-valuable-tree-part-from-boston-parks/
Burl burglars scar public trees to make fancy bowls
Photo, taken on June 13, 2010, courtesy of Ben Husmann via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Support for Earth Wise comes from the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, NY.