Is there a special name for the big round tumor like things that sometimes grow on the trunk of a tree? I always thought it was called a bole, but when I started googling that it sounds like the bole is just the main structural member of the tree.

The reason I ask is I was cutting some wood over the weekend and cut down some cherry that had one of these big round tumor like things in it. I cut it out because I thought it might be fun to carve an actual bowl out of it. After cutting away the bark and roughly squaring it up I have a about a 12x12x16 piece of cherry with some pretty gnarly grain in it that I think would look pretty cool.

Anyone else do this and have any cool pictures of your work to give me some ideas?

Have you seen "One Man's Wilderness" (featuring Dick Pronnecke, who built a log cabin single-handedly in Twin Lakes, Alaska)?  He did something very similar.  I always thought it was called a "bole" as well.  He found one and made a nice bowl out of it.  The video is shown on PBS quite frequently so you can check it out and see what he did.

Yeah, I have those on DVD. Awesome series and partly what gave me the idea!

It might be a tumor.

Burl

This

Pics?  that sounds pretty cool

Thanks! I was scratching my head on what to google to figure it out.

"tree trunk tumor"
"tree trunk knot"
"tree trunk bole"
"round sphere like thing on a tree trunk"

Aw screw it, arfcom will know!

No idea a cherry burl would have this much interest. I'll try to take some pics of it tonight.

It's actually a bacidiomycete - or type of fungi.

Trees can also grow a "scar tissue" from damage, bole weevil, blight or logging/skidder damage.