Flame

A visual figure pattern resembling flames or waves in certain pieces of maple. Flame maple is found only in a small percentage of maple trees and the really eye-popping examples come from less than one percent. Flame is not the actual grain pattern of the wood. It actually runs perpendicular to the grain direction, which is why some maple tops appear to have patterns running front-to-back and side-to-side. The rippled, 3-D look to flame maple is caused by a phenomenon known as chatoyancy.