October, 2003 BW
October, 2003 BW
October, 2003 BW
October, 2003 BW
October, 2003 BW
October, 2003 EL
Leaf: Alternate, simple; ovate, oblong, long pointed at the tip, narrowed or somewhat heart-shaped at the base, 6 to 13 cm long, 4 to 7.5 cm wide, generally twice as long as broad; margin entire (no teeth), undulate, sinuate/undulate; hairless, shiny and dark green on the upper surface; paler green on the lower surface; leaf stalks smooth, up to 5 cm long; turning yellow in autumn.
Flower: Staminate and pistillate borne on separate trees, yellow green, very tiny, the staminate crowded in short clusters on stalks up to 10 cm long, the pistillate crowded into spherical heads on short, stout stalks, blooming April to June.
Fruit: Fleshy, showy, round, wrinkled fruit; 7.5 to 15 cm in diameter; green to lime green; ripening September to October; containing many seeds, with succulent flesh and milky sap. Each large fruit is actually composed of many smaller units, each with a single seed.
Twig: Dull orange-brown, smooth, zigzag, with short, sharp, axillary spines; leaf scars alternate, half-round, elevated, with usually 3 groups of bundle traces; buds round, reddish brown, smooth, very tiny.
Bark: Greenish with white stripes, fissured when young; becoming brown-orange and deeply furrowed with age.
Form: Medium deciduous tree to 12 m tall;
short trunk with diameter up to
30 cm; crown rounded or dome shaped, with several
rather stout, spreading or upward-arching branches;
shade-killed lower branches remaining on the tree forming a dense thicket.
Discussion
The genus name Maclura is taken from the American geologist W. McClure who lived from 1760 to 1840. The species pomifera combines "pom" and "fer", meaning "apple-bearing", referring to the large apple-like fruits. The common name hedge apple also refers to the fruits, as well as the tree's common use in field-side or pasture-edging hedges.
The name Osage orange came from the Osage Indians. They had inhabited the region and soon named the thorny tree. The Osage Indians used the tree mostly for make bows for hunting weapons. One common name for the plant, bois d'arc means "the wood of the bow". The Osage also made yellow dye out of the orange wood and roots. They used the dye to color or tan leather. Historians claim that the tree was so useful to the Indians circa 1800 that they valued it as much as a horse or a blanket.
The Osage orange is valuable in the ecosystem. A hedge made of these trees grows very fast allowing it to look like a giant birds nest and offering cover for quail, pheasants, and many other kinds of birds. The Osage orange also gives cover to many small mammals. The tree has thorny branches which would keep many bigger animals out of it. The fruits are large and numerous, but have a bitter taste, so they aren't eaten by many kinds of animals. However, squirrels, foxes, red crossbills, and northern bobwhites sometimes eat the seeds. Deer and other browsing mammals may eat the sprouts; downy woodpeckers search the bark for insects.
Osage orange is distantly related to the mulberry. Silkworms which commonly eat mulberry leaves will also eat Osage orange leaves.
Because the wood is exceptionally heavy and hard, and because it doesn't shrink much when it dries, it was popular for making wagon wheel hubs.
Farmers have made good use of this tree, as well. The farmers learned that the wood of the Osage orange tree is hard, durable and resistant to decay in the soil. These qualities made the wood suitable for fence posts. In fact, posts made out of the Osage orange have been able to last 50 years or more without a single part of it getting rotten. When the trees are cut for posts, new sprouts come up from the trunks, regenerating the tree and producing more branches for more posts. An uncut hedge made of Osage orange grows into a thorny, tangled thicket capable of keeping livestock in and predators out. Such a hedge acts as a windbreak to prevent soil loss through wind erosion. The hedges are quite durable, as Osage orange is resistant to most diseases and insects. Although Osage orange was the dominant hedge tree of the past, many hedges have been removed to extend the tillable acreage, and remaining hedges are planted with species that provide more benefit to wildlife.
Chemicals taken from the wood have been used to make dyes and pesticides.
Maclura pomifera is native to North America.
Distinguishing Characteristics
The Osage orange has spiny branches, long-pointed, toothless leaves, milky sap, and large, spherical, yellow-green fruits. It is the only thorny tree with milky sap.
Associated Plants
On the Trinity River floodplain in Texas, mostly small (less than 20 cm diameter) Osage orange occurs in bottomland forests dominated by cedar elm (Ulmus crassifolia), sugarberry (Celtis laevigata), green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica), and western soapberry (Sapindus saponaria var. drummondii). In Iowa, Osage orange occurs in a honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos)-black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia)-boxelder (Acer negundo)-elm (Ulmus spp.) forest. On lower terraces of Salt Creek in Illinois, Osage orange occurs in a bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa)-hackberry (Celtis occidentalis) forest. Osage orange is also associated with white oak (Quercus alba), white ash (Fraxinus americana), and red mulberry (Morus rubra). In Tennessee, Kentucky, and Alabama, Osage orange occurs with eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana), black walnut (Juglans nigra), hickory (Carya spp.), and elm (Ulmus spp.).
Distribution
The Osage orange is native only in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. It is commonly planted elsewhere and often escaped from cultivation. Osage orange occupies hedgerows and woods, preferring the rich, moist, soils of well-drained bottomlands.
Images
Click each small picture to see a larger image.
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Location
N 39.26903° W -89.89112°
On the west end of the fitness trail, Loveless Park, South Locust Street, Carlinville, Macoupin County,
IL.
Start at the top of the hill and take 103
paces down the hill, well below the Knee Lift station, and you will be right in front
of an Osage orange.
Copyright
Photos © 2003 Brooke Wise and Katie Talkington,
Carlinville High School, linke@carlinvilleschools.net
References
Mohlenbrock, Robert H. 1996. Forest trees of Illinois. 8th ed.
Illinois Dept.
of Conservation Publications, Springfield. 331 pp.
Petrides, George A. 1988. A field guide to eastern trees. Houghton Mifflin
Company, Boston. 272 pp.
Petrides, George A. 1972. A field guide to trees and shrubs. 2nd ed. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 428 pp.
United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Fire Effects
Information
http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/tree/macpom/all.html
Iowa State University Extension
http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Pages/tree/osage-or.html
Forest Preserve District Of Cook County (Illinois)
http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/natbltn/200-299/nb207.htm