Osage Orange

Re: Osage Orange

Jennifer@Indy.USA

>Carole, could it be Hawthorne? I cut one off my property a few years back and it was thorny!

Jen

Does Weston know you are still up?

Dave Smith, Longview, WA

>

or

Tom Sontag - St. Louis

>It might be black locust. Locust definitely has thorns - I never noticed any on OO though. Black locust wood looks like a faded OO piece and I have confused pieces before.

Re: Osage Orange

Kevin Gerstenecker

>Yes Carole, Osage Orange does have small thorns on the limbs in some cases. They more resemble the thorn of a Rose Bush than a spike thorn of the Locust Tree. They grow singly, from the branch like on a Rose Cane, unlike the Locust Thorn that grows in clumps for the most part. Hawthorne has LONG spike thorns similar to the Locust. Osage Orange bark and growth habit is very distinct as well.....pretty hard to mistake Osage from other species. Good luck Carole....you will love turning Osage!

Re: Osage Orange

Kevin Gerstenecker

>Carole, here is what the thorns of the Osage Orange Tree look like. They are found at the leaf node, as in the picture. Just thought this may help you a bit!

Re: Osage Orange

Carole in VA

>Thanks, Kevin! We'll see if it doesn't start raining!

Re: Osage Orange

Barry Irby

>Carole,

I was given some OO from the yard of a plantation house. The tree was about three feet across the stump and had been felled by a storm. There weren't any thorns on the stem and limbs, but all the smaller limbs and twigs had been removed.

Great stuff to turn, but hard as woodpecker's lips. Takes a beautiful polish. I have a natural edge hollow form I turned by hollowing it through a knot hole. Have fun.

Re: Osage Orange

Kevin Gerstenecker

>That's correct Barry, you will only find the small thorns on the smaller limbs where leaves are present. The large limbs and main trunk areas are void of thorns. Good thing too.......Osage is already hard as stone.....dealing with thorns on the turnable portions would be a bummer!

Re: Osage Orange

Carole in VA

>Well, it's not OO. It appears to be a relative - Mulberry. Wood is bright yellow when first cut then turns a red brown when exposed to air. Don't know if it is any good for turning but I got a bunch of it any way.

Re: Osage Orange

Kevin Gerstenecker

>Mulberry is a very nice wood to turn Carole. The color is pretty, but as you state, it will darken over time. The grain is pretty, and it sands and finishes well. It may not be the Osage you were looking for, but you have some nice wood nonetheless! Good for you! :-)

Re: Osage Orange

Ed in No.VA

>A good test for the difference in Mulberry and OO when there is nothing else to aid identification is to take a small heartwood sliver and drop it in water. OO will color the water and Mulberry wont.

Re: Osage Orange

Barry Irby

>Ed is right, OO will definitely color the water. The shavings will make bright yellow "tea", but I would not drink it. I don't know if mulberry will color the water. I believe you should anchorseal the mulberry. I think it checks pretty quickly.

Incidentally, I think I heard that OO has no cousins, its a single member species or family or whatever. Sort of like "you might be a redneck if there are no branches on your family tree".

Re: Osage Orange

Kevin Gerstenecker

>Actually, Osage Orange (Maclura pomifera) is a member of the Moraceae family. Osage is a member of the Mulberry family, it is related to Mulberries and Figs. That is correct about the wood leaching color in water. The early settlers boiled the wood chips to extract yellow dye. Osage is a very interesting tree, with a firm place in history for it's varied uses. Neat tree!

Record Osage Orange Tree

Carole in VA

>Did you know the biggest one ever recorded is right here in Virginia at Red Hill? They figure it is 330 years old. That would make it a century old or thereabouts when Patrick Henry died. Just a bit of trivia for the day. :)

BTW...mulberry does not tint water...I tried it.

I was at Work....Dave, ugh.

Jennifer@Indy.USA

>....and now I'm back :(

Indy Fest was great though....wile I was there. I had to leave right when the fun started. This job thing really gets in the way of my turning!

Jen : )

We missed you!