Scientific Classification of Osage Orange
Osage Orange, also known as “hedge apple” is scientifically known as Maclura pomifera. This small tree or large shrub is a member of the Moraceae (mulberry) family.
Geographic Origins and Distribution of Osage Orange
The common name of the tree comes from the Osage tribe of Native Americans who lived near the tree’s native area along the Red River in Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, coupled with the orange-like scent of the fruit. The shrub has been widely planted and is reported to exist in all 48 continental states of the United States, although it remains concentrated in the prairie states of the Midwest.
Characteristics of Osage Orange Lumber
The heartwood of the Osage Orange is a bright orange yellow while the sapwood is a paler shade of yellow. The wood is very heavy and strong, yet flexible. The wood takes a fine polish when worked.
Kentucky Osage Orange Blank
Craft Timber Uses of Osage Orange
High quality straight grained osage orange timber, which is uncommon, found use as a premium wood for bow making in the 19th century. It is said that a good Osage bow was worth a horse and a blanket! Today, the wood is not uncommonly used in turnery and other crafts projects, especially among craftspeople who live in its native area and who have a ready supply available to them, often for free.
Completed Pen Using Kentucky Osage Orange
Other Timber Uses of Osage Orange Wood
The most common uses of the Osage Orange tree were and are as a windbreak and as cattle deterrent fence, prior to the invention and adoption of barbed wire, due to the sharp thorns on the plant. The tree also found use in applications where its strength and resistance to rot would be valuable, including as fence posts, tool handles, and electrical insulators.
Non-Timber Uses of Osage Orange Wood
A yellow-orange dye can be extracted from the wood, making it an ecologically friendly alternative to chemical aniline or fustic dyes that can be toxic to people, animals, and/or plants.
Uses of Osage Orange Fruits
The tree produces a fruit which bears seeds that are edible, although it is usually only squirrels who bother to extract them for consumption. Consumption of the fruit itself can cause vomiting. An extract of fruit shows promise as a mosquito repellent, although contrary to folk wisdom in the Midwest, the fruits themselves have no demonstrated ability to repel insects or spiders.
The Osage Orange Tree in History
The Osage Orange has a spot of historical fame and importance as it was one of the primary trees planted during President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s “Great Plains Shelterbelt” WPA project, launched, in 1934, as part of plan to prevent further soil erosion in the plains states and to hopefully alleviate the effects of the current, and prevent a future, Dust Bowl, which was devastating Midwestern farming communities, leading to one of the greatest mass domestic migrations in United States history. By 1942, 30,233 shelterbelts containing 220 million Osage Orange trees that stretched for 18,600 miles had been planted.
My Experience With Osage Orange Wood
I have found Osage Orange wood to frankly be a bit of a pain to work with. Its hardness and durability make it a reasonable wood to use for turnery, but most specimens of the wood are not straight grained, have inclusions and blanks, or are otherwise not reasonable to work with for craft purposes. The wood chips incredibly easily due to its extreme hardness so if you choose to work with it, take care and be patient. Be especially patient when attempting to drill this wood! It seems to take glue quite easily and it does polish beautifully. The wood is a lovely yellow-orange color but that in and of itself is not unique in the wood world. If you have a ready supply of Osage Orange wood, or if you particularly like working with native American woods, by all means give it a try, just bear in mind that it isn’t always the easiest wood to work with given that most pieces are not of high grade timber quality.
Kentucky Osage Orange Blank and Finished Pen
nice informative article
Glad you enjoyed it! Just posted one on acrylic too.
I have had several of these osage orange trees in my back yard for decades, an about a cord or two of it split and aged. It makes wonderful handles, etc.
Osage orange is a strikingly beautiful wood. The wood is very hard, straight grained and takes a wonderful polish. Another use is in jewelry. It has unique colors and grain patterns depending on where the wood was taken fron the tree. Cut parallel with the grain an orange chatoyance is unique. Cut perpendicular to the grain a tubular banded effect is seen. If cut at a conjugate sheer aggle it has one of the most beautiful figures of grain and colors imaginable. It is so hard that like a gemstone it will polish. Very few woods do this. Tans, yellows, browns and orange with a high glass-like tinkeling sound when it is polished. It is durable. Practically anything made of osage orange will last a lifetime. It carves and polishes out as finely as any wood. It is a wood worth using for inlay, handles, pulls, bows, grips, pens and jewelry. The wood is worthy to any luthier worth his salt.