In wood, figure refers to the appearance of wood, as seen on a longitudinal surface (side-grain): a "figured wood" is not plain.

The figure of a particular piece of wood is, in part, due to its grain and, in part, due to the cut, or to innate properties of the wood. A few of the tropical hardwoods, like the rosewoods, may have quite spectacular figure.

Types of figure include "bear scratches," bird's eye

Bird's eye figure

Bird's eye is a type of figure that occurs within several kinds of wood, most notably in hard maple. It has a distinctive pattern that resembles tiny, swirling eyes disrupting the smooth lines of grain. It is somewhat reminiscent of a burl, but it is quite different: the small knots that make the...

, blister, burl

Burl

A burl or bur or burr is a tree growth in which the grain has grown in a deformed manner. It is commonly found in the form of a rounded outgrowth on a tree trunk or branch that is filled with small knots from dormant buds.A burl results from a tree undergoing some form of stress. It may be caused...

, curl, dimple, fiddleback, flame

Flame maple

Flame maple , also known as flamed maple, curly maple, ripple maple, fiddleback or tiger stripe, is a feature of maple in which the growth of the wood fibers is distorted in an undulating chatoyant pattern, producing wavy lines known as "flames"...

, "ghost," quilted

Quilt maple

Quilt or quilted maple refers to a type of "figure" in maple wood. It is seen on the tangential plane and looks like a wavy "quilted" pattern, often similar to ripples on water. It is a distortion of the grain pattern itself. Prized for its beauty, it is used frequently in the manufacturing of...

, and spalted

Spalting

Spalting is any form of wood coloration caused by fungi. Although primarily found in dead trees, spalting can also occur under stressed tree conditions or even in living trees...

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