What are the growths on trees called?

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:53

If an unusual outgrowth appeared on a tree, it means that the structure of this plant has undergone some strong changes.

One of the layers of any wood is the so-called cambium. And such growths usually grow precisely due to it. It turns out that the integrity of this very cambium was somehow violated by certain environmental conditions or mechanical damage.

This article is devoted to this interesting phenomenon. After reading it, you can find out what growths are on trees, what they are called, and what is their meaning.

Causes of growths

Usually, in plants, they occur as a result of a sharp change in its development, which has either a natural or anthropogenic cause.

Growths are sometimes in the form of simply rounded formations, and there are also in the form of several cones located next to each other. The latter is due to the fact that when the integrity of wood is violated for some reason, the tree tries to protect itself from various fungal diseases and insects, and thereforegrow up like an unthinkable form of education.

Growths on trees: photo, name, general description

Kap (and kapokoren) is an outgrowth on a tree with strongly deformed directions of wood fibers. For the most part, there are rounded outgrowths on a branch or trunk. They are filled with small nodules of dormant buds.

Kaps grow, as noted above, due to the cambium. This is a kind of defect in the tree trunk. But besides caps, there are also other types of growths: smooth (spherical) - suvel; irregular shape - tree cancer.

Some burls grow underground as root tumors. Therefore, they are found only after the death of the plant. Such basal outgrowths on trees sometimes represent several round (in the form of cones) bulges, interconnected by rope-like roots. Mouthguards are almost always covered in bark, even when underground (a natural defense against insects and disease).

Some types of plants have huge growths. For example, these can be on a sequoia. In 1984, an outgrowth of unthinkable size was discovered in Australia on a eucalyptus tree. It reached about 2 m in diameter and height, and its strange shape resembled a trombone.

Types of growths

Such growths are found on almost all tree species, but most of them are on deciduous trees. Especially often they are found on oak, pine, birch and alder. In form, they can be completely different. Often there are growthson a tree in the form of mushrooms.

These formations are divided into two groups (according to the arrangement of fibers in them): ordinary, in which the pattern looks like neatly combed hair - suvel-val; influxes with small, rounded and intricately curved lace patterns - caps.

The burl formed on the trunk of a tree is called the stem, and the basal one is located at the root. The second is also called kapokornem. It is much more common in the forest than the stem.

The most rare, durable and beautiful, and therefore valuable, is considered a branch burl (growth on tree branches), which has a relatively small size (15 cm in diameter) and a needle-like structure. And the most common (less dense and valuable) is the root cap, sometimes reaching gigantic sizes. The stem growth occupies an intermediate position between the above varieties.

Value, feature

Growths on trees come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. The wood of burls looks very beautiful in the following plants: maple, cherry, pear. On the international market, the growth on the walnut is considered valuable. It should be noted that there have been instances where some textured mouthguards have been valued for their weight in silver.

For the most part, growths of small sizes are found, but there are also specimens that reach 2 meters in diameter, and weigh more than one ton. Moreover, it often happened that education was completely amazing magicpatterns.

In a birch, growths are found much smaller than on a walnut tree. It happens that in the beauty of their pattern, they are much superior to the latter.

Who would have thought that an ordinary knobby growth on a tree has such valuable properties!

Properties of burl wood

burl wood has amazing, truly valuable properties:

• The natural uniqueness of the pattern on the cut, the uniqueness of the structure.

• Very high strength.

• Does not burn in free fire.

• Perfectly polished.

• Virtually rot-proof.

• Will not crack, shrink or swell.

Economic value and application

Growths on trees are of great benefit. Not the plant itself, no. They are used by man in the manufacture of various products. Caps are needed to obtain unusual wood with a peculiar texture of fibers. Due to the variety of unique drawings, this material is widely demanded and used by artists, cabinetmakers and sculptors.

There is a huge variety of well-known and common types of burl used in the manufacture of veneers, beautiful interior items, board games, picture frames, household items, costume jewelry, etc. Such wood is not very easy to process due to its unevenness and heterogeneity of fiber growth directions, but it is strong and durable.

Kap is widely used in decorative arts. On theIn Vyatka in the 19th century, a folk art craft was created: craftsmen made Vyatka burl boxes, desk writing sets, etc.

Research results

According to statistics, for every 3,000 ordinary trees, without growths, there is an average of one burl tree.

Since 1959, due to the value of such wood, the Central Research Institute of Forest Genetics of the USSR Academy of Sciences began to study the biological study of burls and methods of growing them. Scientists have developed a technology for sowing and growing birches with burls. As a result, a huge grove was planted in the suburbs. And since 1967, the planting of such a birch began to be carried out in the forestry of the Kirov region.

How to get cap?

In any case, it is not worth spoiling a living tree in the forest because of a beautiful cap. Moreover, this natural anomaly is not so difficult to find - on trees in city parks, in gardens. Yes, and a large number of trees are cut down annually, on which burls can be found.

And yet… In case of urgent need, this should be done carefully and during the period from late autumn to early spring, when the movement of sap in the tree is slow.

The growth on the bark of a tree can be cut with a sharp knife or cut down with a saw. Be sure to cut the place must be treated with hydrogen peroxide and cover with garden pitch. You can also lubricate the cut with drying oil or fresh resin (a natural antiseptic), although today it is difficult to find.

And for gardeners, the following is important. To avoid the formation of such ugly trees on garden treesforms of growths, you need to inspect plants more often. If cracks and damage are found, it is necessary to heal them until large caps have formed. In gardens, it is desirable to treat all growths on trees and branches.

Conclusion

There were many opinions about the formation of caps. As a result, scientists came to this conclusion. Cap is a biologically normal, protective phenomenon. The formation of a build-up on a tree is a natural inherited natural process.

During numerous scientific observations, it has been found that such plants are he althier. Such a tree is more resilient during spring floods and during periods of frequent temperature changes. It is also more stable in the winds.

Due to the limited supply of this type of wood and due to its unique properties described above, this material is the most valuable among others.

The price on the world market for burl (veneer and solid wood) far exceeds the cost of any other material of this kind, including walnut, oak, mahogany, elm and any exotic species.