By Mary Lacy
Northside News
Along one of the trails in Lake View Hill Park, there is a strange looking tree. What caused that lump? Is it a wasp nest with wood siding? Did the tree grow around a rock? Is it a baby Ent?
I contacted Dr. George Meindl, associate teaching professor at the UW-Madison Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology. Here is his explanation: “Tree burls are tumor-like growths that result from a variety of factors, including infection by viruses and fungi or damage by insects. They usually don’t kill the tree, and as the tree grows over time, so do the burls.”
This particular white oak burl even has its own sign, noting that it is a “very burly burl.” There is another burl in a tree close by and, if you take the time to look carefully, you can see burly trees in most of the woodlands on the Northside. Dr. Meindl said, “In our region of southern Wisconsin, it is common to find burls forming in oak, maple and black cherry trees.”
It can be strange to think of something like a tree having wounds, but burls are a visible result of stress to a tree.
Now you know what it is.
