Quilted Maple
This figure occurs in a few other woods, too
Quilted Maple
Wow! Look at the back of this Taylor guitar:
This is some of the most flambouyant "quilted" maple you'll ever see!
The quilted figure is a good deal more rare than the characterstic "fiddle back" or "curly" maple. This particular deformation of the wood grain gives the appearance of the little puckers you see in a cloth quilt. In fact, the fibers look as though someone actually pinched them into this shape.
Here's a closeup:
Almost looks like it's boiling, doesn't it? Mahogany and a few other woods sometimes show this figure, but quilted maple is by far the most commonly found.
This quilted mahogany has such a rare pronounced figure, that it commands the same price as premium Brazilian rosewood: