hemmy
Omono
I grew up around this tree and was delighted to see it used in bonsai by the late Jim Lewis (@jk_lewis). As soon as we moved to a place where I had space, I started seeds (in 2016) from trees around my childhood home. Since we had so few threads on this great North American tree, I had planned on creating a thread once I had some trees and knowledge that were worthy of creating a post. Unfortunately, I'm far from that point. But I'm losing my growing space so I have to get rid of the majority of these trees (I'll put a link to separate thread for the trees that are being sold at the LA Community Swap Meet in Oct.). Since I was already photographing my trees I decided to post my trees and some observations on the trees. Please feel free to add your own Osage Orange trees either as bonsai, pre-bonsai or in the natural environment.
Maclura pomifera (Osage Orange, Bois d'Arc, Bodark, Bow wood, Hedge Apple) is a tree that was widely naturalized as a windbreak and natural livestock fence in the area of the Midwest where I grew up, which was actually 400 miles north of the present day range in the Red River drainage of Oklahoma, Texas, and Arkansas. The tree is easily recognized by its orange-hued bark, thorny branches, and grapefruit sized lumpy fruit commonly called hedge apples. The tree has a white milky sap and a yellow tannin content in the bark. The wood is very hard, dense, and considered one of the most decay resistant woods in North America (due in part to the tannin content?). It was reportedly named after a Scottish-born American Geologist, William Maclure.
Mature trees can be tall but tend to split into knobby multi-trunks with contorted branches growing out to create a very irregular broom form. My favorite hypothesis on the reduced range of this tree is that the large, mostly inedible fruits were once more widely dispersed by a now-extinct herbivore of the North American mega-fauna. The largest examples of these trees documented on the internet appears to be mostly from back East and not in the Midwest. Although there must be some large old trees in the 'native' range. These eastern trees were likely trees planted from seeds brought back by early explorers and traders moving across the country. These trees are certainly larger than any example that I grew up which might be due in part to climate differences. These larger trees back east appear to come from slightly warmer USDA zones 7/8 which are more similar to their 'native' range than the cooler Zone 6 where I was raised.
Reference for images of bark and fruit
Maclura pomifera (Osage Orange, Bois d'Arc, Bodark, Bow wood, Hedge Apple) is a tree that was widely naturalized as a windbreak and natural livestock fence in the area of the Midwest where I grew up, which was actually 400 miles north of the present day range in the Red River drainage of Oklahoma, Texas, and Arkansas. The tree is easily recognized by its orange-hued bark, thorny branches, and grapefruit sized lumpy fruit commonly called hedge apples. The tree has a white milky sap and a yellow tannin content in the bark. The wood is very hard, dense, and considered one of the most decay resistant woods in North America (due in part to the tannin content?). It was reportedly named after a Scottish-born American Geologist, William Maclure.
Mature trees can be tall but tend to split into knobby multi-trunks with contorted branches growing out to create a very irregular broom form. My favorite hypothesis on the reduced range of this tree is that the large, mostly inedible fruits were once more widely dispersed by a now-extinct herbivore of the North American mega-fauna. The largest examples of these trees documented on the internet appears to be mostly from back East and not in the Midwest. Although there must be some large old trees in the 'native' range. These eastern trees were likely trees planted from seeds brought back by early explorers and traders moving across the country. These trees are certainly larger than any example that I grew up which might be due in part to climate differences. These larger trees back east appear to come from slightly warmer USDA zones 7/8 which are more similar to their 'native' range than the cooler Zone 6 where I was raised.
Reference for images of bark and fruit
Tree of the Week: Osage-Orange (Maclura pomifera, family Moreaceae (mulberry family))
What's not to like? Grows anywhere, has glossy, dark green foliage and deeply fissured orangish-tan bark with great winter interest. Just don’t park your car under female trees.
bygl.osu.edu