MOKUREI COLLECTION / ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPHMOKUREI STUDIO / SPECIMEN 004
Briar Burl
Erica arborea
Flowing root figure, eyes and richly mottled caramel-to-reddish colour.
- Botanical family
- Ericaceae
- Average dry density
- 910 kg/m³ (≈12% MC)
- Janka hardness
- 2,090 lbf
- Native distribution
- Mediterranean, African highlands & western Asia
- Grain & texture
- Wild, irregular figure in the root burl
Original photograph © Mokurei Studio · timber held in the studio collection. Identification supplied by the studio; physical-property values are literature references, not measurements of the pictured piece.
Material character
Dense root burl with intricate changes of grain direction; every cut can look radically different.
Notable applications
Smoking-pipe bowls, decorative boxes, handles and miniature turned works.
Of particular interest
Pipe makers distinguish plateaux cuts taken from the exterior of a burl and ebauchon blocks taken from within.
Workshop note
The visual and mechanical properties of burl figure vary considerably from standard straight-grained wood.
Wood identification is provided by the Mokurei Studio collection, not independently laboratory-verified. Technical figures are reference averages, not measurements of the photographed piece; they vary with provenance and moisture.