Canker or Burl?

[RCBS]

 

 

She's a big un.



 

I'm terrible at eyeballing diameter...so here's a hat for reference



 

From a distance



 

Sorry pics are horrible.  Bad camera phone plus heavy overcast that day.

What do I have here?  Hopefully something decent as this should have been a nearly defect-free tree!  I can remeber this thing from when I was a kid and it was basketball sized back then.

[thecfarm]

I have no idea,But do agree on the big un part. Interesting you been keeping your eye on it all these years too.

[beenthere]

Maybe a white oak burl ?

[WDH]

Definitely looks like a burl to me, not a canker. 

[coxy]

I here they pay big money for white oak burls

[RCBS]

Thanks for the input everyone.  It is a white oak.  I have seen where burlwood is desirable, but have little knowledge about such.  It has been interesting watching it grow.  Every couple of years when I stop and look it suprises me how large its gotten.  This is on my fathers land and I've been running around those woods since the early eighties.  Have watched some nice logs grow over that time as well.  There are some other burls/cankers around the property, but none near as impressive.

So is there a market for such wood?   

[WDH]

The bowl turners like it.

[cedgo]

And pistol grip makers.

[OH Boy]

From Ehow search
Tree Cankers

    Tree cankers are areas of dead wood. Symptoms of tree cankers include branch dieback, wilting foliage and defoliation. The canker itself may appear discolored compared to the surrounding bark, swollen or deformed. When cankers appear on conifer trees, the trees may leak clear resin that dries white. If there are tiny bumps around the canker, there is a good chance that the tree has a fungal disease, according to Iowa State University.

Fungal Cankers

    Fungal diseases cause both target-shaped and diffuse cankers, according to Cornell University. Target-shaped cankers are typically caused on deciduous trees. Fungi invade living or dead branches and grow in the fall and winter months. When the tree comes out of dormancy, it responds to the infection by growing layers of tissue around the infected areas, which causes the target shape. Diffuse cankers are the most deadly canker types. The fungal diseases that cause these cankers grow rapidly beneath the bark area. The tree has little chance to bounce back from the infection.

From FF glossary
Burl       A swirl or twist in the grain of wood, usually occurring near a knot, but which itself does not contain a knot.  Valued as the source of highly-figured burl veneers used for ornamental purposes.
Additional or regional comments :

Based on the definitions and that it seems to be growing, I would guess Canker. sure looks funny. I;ve seen some like this in Ohio also, but not that big.

[RCBS]

Will most likely be a while before this mystery unfolds.  It'll be on the ground once the log under it is ready, or it falls over trying to hold that big tumor up!   

[RynSmith]

Is it just me, or is there some sort of defect going on maybe 10-12 feet below the burl, just below the branch with the three yellow leaves?  Seems like the diameter narrows all of a sudden there.  Again, it may just be me...   :-\

[SwampDonkey]

Looks like a black knot burl on a cherry to me. I seem to see cherry leaves on some lower limbs.

[RCBS]

Well...looks like more/better photos are needed.  Not going tobhappen today in the rain, but will try to get a good shot next weekend.  Will try to get a ladder up there for a close-up picture.   

[Autocar]

A burl for sure a canker would hve fungus and dead wood showing.