Osage Orange
Osage Orange
Botanical Name: Maclura pomiferaFamily Name: Moraceae – Mulberry familyOrigin: OK, TX, ARThe Osage orange tree’s scientific name is Macular Pomifera, but it’s also been called prairie hedge, hedge apple, horse apple, bowwood and yellowwood. The Osage orange is indigenous to the America. Its ancestors were prehistoric trees. Mammoths, mastodons, sloths and other giant prehistoric Ice Age animals ate its fruit.
The Osage orange is also part of America’s history. Osage is the name of an Indian tribe who used Osage tree wood to make strong bows and arrows. Early pioneers used Osage wood to make wagons, spokes, wheels, plows and strong tools. They also used Osage wood for fire because it burns hot and slowly.
During the 1930s, the soil in the midwestern states was depleted and blowing away. President Roosevelt had Osage orange trees planted along fence lines and rivers to block the wind and prevent soil erosion. Osages grew quickly and low, making fences to break the wind. They saved our soil.
In 2017, an Osage orange tree at the Red Hill Patrick Henry National Memorial in Brookneal, VA, was designated a “National Tree Champion” on account of the diameter of its trunk, the height of its branches and the spread of its crown. Its trunk measures 328 inches, its height is 65 feet, and the spread of its crown is 93 feet. These measurements resulted in a score of 416 points.
The trunk is majestic, colorful, round and tough. The bark is deeply furrowed, braided, golden to bright yellow and often dark orange. It fades to medium reddish brown in ultraviolet sunlight.
The wood is heavy, hard, strong, and flexible. It polishes well and resists rotting. The roots at the base of the trunk are strong and knotted. It can grow from 40 to 60 feet when standing alone but much smaller along a fence with other Osages.
Some of the Dodona Osage orange trees are male and others female. The ones in the front of the house are female and have fruit. The ones in the back are male. The fruit is big, round, wrinkly and bumpy. It smells like lemon, but it is considered inedible because of its texture and taste. However, it is decorative and fun to grow.
The leaves are long, thick, firm, shiny, egg-shaped with sharp points, dark green on top and lighter underneath. In autumn they turn yellow. The leaf is armed with stout, steel like, unbranched thorns at each leaf scar. When cut or damaged, it gives out a protective milky sap.
The wonderful gift the Osage orange gives to artists and artisans is the color and texture of its wood. It is a favorite dye for a range of golden yellows, metallics and russet golds, as well as soft mossy greens.
