How hard is Mappa Burl?

Mappa Burl has a Janka hardness of 410 lbf (1,820 N), a USDA Forest Products Laboratory value at 12% moisture content. That is a soft wood, and the figures reflect the parent poplar tree since irregular burl tissue is not characterized by standard testing.

Can Mappa Burl be used outdoors?

No. Poplar in any form is non-durable, so Mappa Burl is decorative interior material only, used for veneer, luxury cabinet panels, jewelry boxes, pen blanks, knife scales, instrument tops, and inlay.

How does Mappa Burl work on the bench?

Stabilized burl machines and turns clean and sands to a glassy surface, and it takes dye and stain readily because the open structure is porous. Raw burl carries voids, bark inclusions, and soft spots that need fill, and the punky areas around the eyes usually want resin to stabilize.

ExoticPopulus alba

Mappa Burl

Not a species. A growth abnormality on European poplar.

Mappa Burl (Populus alba) is an exotic hardwood burl with a Janka hardness of 410 lbf. It shows a pale cream to yellow-tan ground dotted with dense clusters of small dark brown to black eyes, and like all poplar it is non-durable, decorative interior material.

Category: Exotic
Janka: 410 lbf
Botanical: Populus alba
Shipped at: 6–8% MC

Populus alba (also P. nigra) European Poplar Burl · European Poplar Burl · Native across Europe

Native across Europe.

Burl is a growth abnormality, not a species. Pale cream to light yellow-tan ground, dense clusters of small dark brown to black eyes — dormant bud traces.

Detail of Mappa Burl grain — figured wood texture, photographed at Raw Heartwood — A close read on the grain. Detail of this specimen

What you see.

Pale cream to light yellow-tan ground, dense clusters of small dark brown to black eyes — dormant bud traces. The contrast is the whole look. Often bleached or dyed to push the effect.

Heartwood color detail of Mappa Burl (Populus alba (also P. nigra))

Heartwood, this specimen

How the grain runs.

Wildly irregular. Swirled and contorted around the bud clusters. Fine even texture in the clear field, punky and porous around the eyes — usually wants resin to stabilize.

Closer detail of Mappa Burl grain figure

Closer in

On the bench.

Poplar in any form is non-durable. Decorative interior material, period. Stabilized burl machines and turns clean. Raw burl carries voids, bark inclusions, soft spots that need fill. Sands to a glassy surface. Takes dye and stain readily because the structure is open. None. Poplar runs low-risk. Airborne dust can trigger respiratory irritation, occasionally dermatitis. Dust mask.

The numbers, looked at directly.

Janka Hardness

0lbf

1,820 N. Side-hardness — force to embed a half-inch steel ball halfway into the wood.

Average Dried Weight

0lbs/ft³

450 kg/m³. At 12% MC.

Specific Gravity

0.36/ 0.45 at 12% MC

Basic over green volume; second number at 12% moisture content.

Hardness, in context

A side-hardness measurement. Higher number, harder wood.

Shrinkage — radial / tangential / volumetric

3.5%radial

8.3%tangential

12.0%volumetric

On sourcing

Where this wood comes from matters.

Neither Populus alba nor P. nigra is on CITES. Both are abundant and fast-growing. P. nigra is locally declining in parts of Europe due to hybridization and habitat loss, but supply is not constrained. Burl is salvage from individual harvested trees.

What it's for.

Veneer
Luxury cabinet panels
Jewelry boxes
Pen blanks
Knife scales
Instrument tops
Decorative inlay

Worth knowing.

Burl is a growth abnormality, not a species. "Mappa" is a trade name covering burl from European white poplar (Populus alba) and to a lesser extent black poplar (P. nigra). Mechanical specs above reflect the parent tree — burl tissue is irregular and not characterized by standard testing. Ask which species your supplier means.

Sources & references.

Populus alba (White Poplar) — Wikipedia contributors
Populus alba — IUCN Red List — Barstow, M.; Khela, S. (2017)
White Poplar (Populus alba) — The Wood Database
Populus alba — EUFORGEN Technical Guidelines
Populus alba — Plants of the World Online (Kew)

Common questions.

How hard is Mappa Burl?: Mappa Burl has a Janka hardness of 410 lbf (1,820 N), a USDA Forest Products Laboratory value at 12% moisture content. That is a soft wood, and the figures reflect the parent poplar tree since irregular burl tissue is not characterized by standard testing.
Can Mappa Burl be used outdoors?: No. Poplar in any form is non-durable, so Mappa Burl is decorative interior material only, used for veneer, luxury cabinet panels, jewelry boxes, pen blanks, knife scales, instrument tops, and inlay.
How does Mappa Burl work on the bench?: Stabilized burl machines and turns clean and sands to a glassy surface, and it takes dye and stain readily because the open structure is porous. Raw burl carries voids, bark inclusions, and soft spots that need fill, and the punky areas around the eyes usually want resin to stabilize.

From the library to your bench