Curls or "Crotches" grow from the compression of wood fibres in the joint between the trunk and the branch, as a result, creating beautiful patterns.

Curls are often sub categorized as flame, plume, roostertail, feather or burning bush. All of these descriptive terms serve to convey the range of this figure's appearance. In case of Clusters, the veneer has patches of burl figure which are rotary sliced from the log.