Named for the Osage tribe, of Missouri, who used its dense
wood for their bows, the tree was known to French explorers as
bois d'arc (wood of the bow, sometimes corrupted to "bodark")
was native to Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The Osage orange
became popular in the east after the Lewis and Clark expedition
of 1803-1806. Also called "hedge plant" or "hedge
apple," the thorny Osage orange grew into fencerows that
were "pig tight, horse high, and bull strong" before
the invention of barbed wire. Read more about the Osage orange
tree and its history in
The
Enduring Osage Orange.
The yellow-green fruits of Maclura pomifera (which grow only
on female trees) are 3 to 5 inches in diameter with 200 to 300
seeds. Saplings from cuttings of the champion at Red Hill, a
male tree, are available from the American Forests Historic Tree
Nursery.
The Osage orange
became popular in the eastern United States after the Lewis and
Clark expedition of 1804-1806. Also called "hedge plant" or "hedge
apple," the thorny Osage orange prefers full sun. It could be
planted in fencerows that were "pig tight, horse high, and bull
strong" before the invention of barbed wire.
This association
with Lewis and Clark had prompted speculation, now discredited, that
the Osage orange tree at Red Hill was a specimen from their
expedition. Dr. Copenheaver’s findings confirm, instead, that the
central trunk of the young Osage orange tree at Red Hill was already
a century old when Patrick Henry died here in 1799.
Prominent
on the grounds at Red Hill is the Osage orange tree declared by
the American Forestry Hall of Fame to be the National Champion
-- the largest and oldest tree of its species in America.
Fifty-five feet tall, with branches that span more than ninety
feet, the tree at Red Hill had long been estimated to be between
200 and 350 years old.
Early in March
2003, however, a careful examination by dendrochronologist Dr.
Carolyn Copenheaver, of Virginia Tech, laid many inaccurate
guesses to rest. Dr. Copenheaver estimates that the tree
is at least 330 years old. Her scientific findings are described
by nature journalist Nancy Hugo in a Summer 2003 article
published in American Forests magazine. You can visit the
website of the
