curly maple

[dadguy]

how does curly maple form?

[Clanad]

Bird's eye is created by a stress on the tree like a prolonged drought that causes the tree to throw out many little branches along its trunk. Buffeting winds that make the xylem and phloem stretch as the tree is growing causes curly maple. When the conditions that caused the buffeting stop-usually because surrounding trees have caught up in height-the stretched tissues collapse on themselves making a curly pattern. Both conditions could exist in one tree and would be known as quilted maple. While these are not really rare occurrences, they are unusual and make the resulting wood more desirable for one-of-a-kind furniture making.
(Source; Catskill Mountain Fine Furniture Guide)