BIRD'S-EYE - The name itself describes it best. Once considered a defect, the best bird's-eye flitches are now expensive and in demand. These veneers are most often rotary cut or half-round sliced (in an arc) to produce the most uniform distribution of nice round eyes. Bird's-eye is most common in maple (shown), but bird's-eye does rarely occur in a few other species.

FIDDLEBACK - A fine variation of curly figure, this figure's name is taken from its customary use for violin backs. Logs for fiddle back veneers are quarter sawn to produce very straight grain with nearly perpendicular curls running uninterrupted from edge to edge. Maple, makore (shown), Anigre and English sycamore head a list of about 12 fiddle back-prone species.

CURLY - Contortions in grain direction that reflect light differently create an appearance of undulating waves known as curly grain. Many species develop this figure, but most commonly maple, shown. Stump and butt sections of trees often produce a diagonal, staircase- like curl referred to as "angel steps", and a rolling curl figure that is called "cross-fire".

BEE’S WING - Smaller, and more intense than mottled figure, although structurally similar, bee's-wing figure is said to resemble that insect’s appendage when magnified. East Indian satinwood, shown, is extremely well known for having this figure, and it also occurs occasionally in narra, mahogany and eucalyptus.

QUILTED - Although greatly resembling a larger and exaggerated version of pommele or blister figure, quilted figure has bulges that are elongated and closely crowded. Quilted grain looks veritably three-dimensional when seen at its billowy best. It’s most commonly found in mahogany, moabi, maple (shown), sapele and myrtle, and occurs only rarely in other species.

CROTCH - Cut from the juncture of a tree's main branches and trunk, crotch figures are often sub-categorized as flame, plume, rooster tail, feather or burning bush. All of these descriptive terms serve to convey the range of this figure’s appearance. Seldom found in larger sizes, mahogany (shown) and walnut species dominate the field of crotch veneers.

BURLS- Growths on trees produce some of the most prized veneers. Usually available in smallish, often defective sheets, burls feature swirling grain around clusters of dormant buds, rings or eyes. Varieties include "cluster burl" or “cat’s paw burl". Redwood, oak, ash, madrone, elm (shown) and walnut are common burl species; exotic burls include mappa, thuya and imbuya.

POMMELE - This figure resembles a puddle surface during a light rain: a dense pattern of small rings enveloping one another. Some say this has sort of a "suede" or "furry" look. It's usually found in extremely large trees of African species like sapele (shown), bubinga and makore. Some domestic species with a sparser, larger figure are referred to as "blistered".

PEANUT SHELL - When certain woods exhibit a quilted or blistered figure, they are rotary cut to promote a random, wild grain pattern as well. This peanut-shell grain creates a visual illusion similar to quilted figure: the veneer appears bumpy and pitted; when in fact it's flat. Tamo (Japanese ash), shown, and bubinga are the two most popular examples of this figure.

SWIRL - This figure is a visually gentler version of regular crotch figure. As the name implies, the grain meanders and swirls around, often seeming to convolute and fold in upon itself. The densest portions of the swirl show up darker or shaded compared to the lighter surrounding wood. Swirl occurs in species including walnut (shown), mahogany, cherry and maple.

BUTTON - When woods with large medullary rays are quarter sawn, the harder, shinier rays are more fully exhibited and show up as "snowflakes" or buttons on a straight-grained background. Some veneer species, such as white oak, lace wood (shown) and American sycamore, are more attractive when sliced to reveal this button figure.

MOTTLED - Wavy grain combines with spiral, inter- locked grain to produce a wrinkled, blotchy figure known as mottle. The mottled figure may be scattered randomly (broken mottle), or appear as a regular checkerboard pattern (block mottle). Members of the mahogany family, koa, sapele, bubinga and African satinwood, shown, most commonly exhibit mottled figure.