Today I want to talk about this cool wood called Osage Orange (scientific name “Maclura pomifera”). There are some interesting facts about this wood and I am kind of surprised it isn’t in more usage in gardens and wood working projects.
Besides the name Osage Orange, it is also known as Hedge Apple, Hedge Ball, Horse Apple, Bois d’arc, Monkey Ball, Monkey Brain, Green Brain, Bow wood, Osage Apple Tree, Wild Orange, Yellow wood, and Mock Orange. Those are the names I was able to find and there may be more. Some of these names are necessarily about the wood, but from the fruits this tree produces.
Brief History of this Wood
The name Osage is named after the Osage Indian tribe in Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. Native Americans have used this wood to make archery bows and war clubs. It is a wood native to the North Americas, mostly south-central areas, but it is now wide spread and is hardy in most states. The archery bows were an important trade item between the Native Americans and Europeans.
It was the first plant to be sent to Thomas Jefferson by the Lewis and Clark Expedition. You can read more about this fascinating story here.
These trees were planted as wind breaks in the great plains to prevent soil erosion.
Because of the thorns this tree has and when used as a hedge, it was the choice in barriers before barb wire was invented.
The Springfield News-Leader has a very fascinating article on how the history of the Osage Orange has evolved. You can read it here.
What are the uses for this wood?
- Can be used as a dye – Take some wood shavings and soak them in water and the water will change yellow. You can buy Osage Orange shavings to make your own dye. Khaki colored uniforms used Osage Orange as a dye during WWI.
- Fence Posts – Being a wood that is considered to be one of the most decay resistant woods in North America, it has been used as fence posts. However, for what I understand from other articles and comments from other people, once the wood has dried and become hard, adding nails or staples are nearly impossible.
- Fencing/Hedgerows – When planted closely together, the tree becomes more shrub like, therefore, making it great as hedgerows. The hedgerows served a couple things…one being that it helped reduce wind erosion in farm fields, and two being that because the shrubs are thorny they helped keep wildlife out or livestock in.
- Archery bows – Because this wood is flexible and durable, it naturally makes for good material in archery bows.
- Musical Instruments – The yellow and orange color of this wood make for great accents to musical instruments.
- Wood turnings – This is a beautiful wood for wood turnings. Some say it is very difficult to work with. Very sharp tools are needed when working with this wood. It finishes up very nicely and accepts glues and finishes well.
- Firewood – It burns hotter than any other wood. It is not recommended to be used in an open fireplace or welded boiler plate stoves. The fire will get hot enough to warp the metal and break the welds. Coal rated cast iron stoves are fine and the heat may make it glow red. Open fireplaces are not recommended because of the extreme sparks it may create. Sounds like from some people, the older and dryer the wood, the less popping and sparks it creates because the moisture and sap have dried out. Some say it is the next best thing to coal because it burns so hot, it has the highest BTU’s in woods in North America.
- Smoking – Not by inhaling, but smoking food in a smoker. Yes, it is done by some and recommended against by others. Because this wood burns at a high temperature for a long time, some say it makes a great wood for this. Others don’t like the smell of the smoke. Check out Lakeside Smokers for some tips.
- Other small objects – This wood is great for all kinds of small objects, including tool handles and other turnings. Finding a clean board without knots and defects that is large would be tough because of the twisting and turning of this wood species.
- Insect repellent – The Osage Orange tree is occasionally referenced as an insect repellent, but this seems to be questionable depending on the source. It’s not the wood used as an insect repellent, but the fruits that are produced from this tree. Even this seems to have been disproved.
What are the characteristics of this wood?
The most desirable portion of Osage Orange is the heartwood; this is the center portion of the tree, which is the oldest and typically the strongest portion of the tree and is the yellow/orange color.
It is flexible and very durable.
As it ages, it gets harder. This wood is very strong and hard when dry. You will need sharp tools when working with it and some say it is nearly impossible, if not very difficult, to split for firewood when it is dry.
It is very rot and insect resistant, hence why it is great for fence posts. Termites avoid it.
The fruits on the tree are not known to be edible and most animals avoid it.
One of the potential downfalls of this wood, and it may not even be a downfall if it doesn’t matter to you, is that it will change from yellow to a darker brown color over time. This may be a downfall if you are expecting to keep the yellow color. All my research on this online has not provided a solution to this as there are for other woods. Some woods can have a UV inhibitor applied to it to reduce the chances of the color change. Not with Osage Orange. Sounds like there is no current solution to this color change. The resulting brown color is still a very pleasing color to me and is not an issue with the wine bottle stoppers I make with it.
Conclusion
I personally enjoy working with this wood. Yes, it may be a bit difficult to work with at times, but I find that having sharp tools helps tremendously. It sands easily and nicely. It accepts polish very well. The finished products are beautiful! What more could I ask for?
I also like that this wood is not on the endangered species list, yet. Hopefully we can prevent that from happening. You can buy seeds for this plant and grow your own. We received ours today and will be trying to grow our own Osage Orange tree. If it works out, we will share with you our progress along that journey.
Rick Simper has various hobbies, including woodworking, metalworking, composting, and gardening. He is an Architect full time and uses these hobbies to get away from the busy week of Architecture.