Grain and Texture of wood

Grain/Texture 
The direction, size, arrangement, appearance, or 
quality of the fibers in wood is what defines grain. 
Texture often is used interchangeably with grain. It 
sometimes is used to combine the concepts of density 
and degree of contrast between earlywood and 
latewood. Texture refers to the finer structure of the 
wood, rather than the growth rings. 
• Grain may be described as being either “open
grain (course-grain)” or “closed-grain (fine
grain),” which directly affects the way a wood 
accepts stain and finishes. Open-grain species 
typically have larger pores and accept stain more 
evenly than some closed-grain species (compare 
staining oak and maple).
 • Straight-grain refers to wood fibers that grow 
straight and parallel with the tree’s axis. 
• Cross-grain refers to wood fibers that do not run 
parallel to the tree’s axis. 
• Irregular grain refers to wood fibers that twist in 
abnormal ways. Irregular grain often is found near 
burls, knots, branches, or crotches in the tree.
 • Interlocked grain refers to wood fibers that occur 
when the tree changes its growing direction. The 
grain patterns tend to interlock and spiral back 
and forth, which can create a ribbon effect on the 
face of the board. 
• Spiral-grain refers to wood fibers that grow in a 
spiral-like pattern, circling or twisting around the 
trunk of the tree.
 • Wavy grain refers to wood fibers that form a 
short wavy pattern. 
• Curly grain refers to wood fibers that are 
distorted so that they have a curly appearance. 
The areas on the face of the board showing 
curly-grain may vary up to several inches in 
diameter.