Khaya or African Mahogany comes from Western Africa, Ivory Coast and south.  Khaya Swirls and Crotches (the joint between two limbs) were always and still are prized veneers.  The crotch grain pattern itself can range from a broad and swirly look on the outside of the flitch, through a plume type pattern as you get closer to the center of the flitch and the grain of the two limbs begins to really become apparent, to a very tight rat’s tail in the very center of the flitch.

The Khaya flitch is not exactly what we think of with long woods, it’s a block that has been sawn out  of the junction where the limbs come together.

Shown here, the photo is between a plume and rat’s tail.  If you were to turn the photo upside down, that is how the crotch actually grows.

Crotches are found in numerous different species.