by Gene Wengert, gwengert@wattnet.net
Osage Orange (Maclura pomifera) derived its common name from the Osage Indians in Oklahoma and Texas and the orange-smelling fruits. The Latin name comes from William Maclura, an American geologist (1763-1840), and from the grapefruit-size, heavily wrinkled, spherical pomes or apples (inedible for humans) it produces. Many a farm child has used these fruits for baseballs!
The tree was native to Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas, but in the last century the tree has “escaped” and is found throughout the U.S. It is most commonly known as Osage orange, but other names include hedge, hedge-apple, yellow-wood, bowwood, Osage apple, and bodark (from the French bois d’arc, meaning bow wood). The sharp thorns of this tree led to its planting for hedgerows that performed as excellent fences for cattle. It also was widely planted to stabilize erosion during the Dust Bowl.
The extremely high strength of this wood led to its use for archery bows (in the 19th century, a well-made Osage-orange bow was worth “a horse and a blanket”), and for wheel rims and axle hubs for wagons. It is probably the most naturally decay resistant species in north America, leading to its use as fence posts, insulators and insulator pins on telephone poles, and railroad ties. Yet it seems terrible to use such a beautiful wood for non-appearance items. The beautiful coloring has lead to limited use for turnings and novelties, such as wooden pens, as well as for accent wood in musical instruments, substituting for ebony at times. The potential exists for more widespread use, especially as an accent species.
The root wood and bark, and to a lesser extent the wood itself, have a great amount of yellow coloring that can be extracted in hot water and used as dye. Native Americans used this coloring. In World War I, the dye was used for khaki coloring.
Updated: Oct 30, 2012