10 Graines Oranger des Osages, Maclura pomifera

Oranger of Osages, Maclura Pomifera |

ORANGEROF OSAGES (Maclura Pomifera ; Syn. Maclura Aurantiaca) is a species of trees originating fromNorth America Belonging to the family of Moraceae and which, despite its Common Name in French, has nothing to be agrume if not a resemblance fruit to a green orange.

10 seeds - Stratify in the cold (vegetables in your refrigerator), for 3 months before sowing.

Young photo shoots without stratification.

The American botanist Thomas Nuttall (1786-1859) awarded him thespecific epithet Aurantiaca which means orange. Mentioned by William Dunbar and George Hunter in 1804 during their trip to the Mississippibasin. This species was introduced in France in 1812 for its foliage close to that of Mûrier and which was thought to be the food of Silk in too cold regions For the culture of Mulberry, because the species is rustic and fruiting even under the climate of Paris. These trials were quickly abandoned and it was hardly planted only for ornament.

The common name comes from the Amerindian tribe of Osages, which occupied the area where this tree grows.

This plant is also known under the synonym of thorny maclure, Arc wood (expression also designating other species of trees).

It is a species Dioic of rounded port that can measure up to 18 m high. The trunk is generally short. The mature bark of the tree is gray orange, deeply crisscrossed and scaly.

Its green leaves, Caduques and simple are alternate. They measure 8 to 13 centimeters long and 5 to 8 centimeters wide and are thick and firm. The features of the leaves contain formidable spines 2.5 cm long at maturity. The leaves saw yellow in autumn.

It is planted as an ornamental and collection tree in temperate zone, especially in France1. The tree is commonly used as hedge windbreak in the American states of large plains. He was one of the main trees used by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the Shelterbelt project launched in 1934 to modify the weather and prevent soil erosion in the states of the big ones plains. In 1942 were planted 30,000 windbreaks containing 220 million trees which extended over 30,000 km. Thorny trees have also been planted like deterrent hedges for livestock before the introduction of barbed wire^{[réf. nécessaire]}. The species then became an important source of closing posts.

The fruit is not edible because of its bitterness. The Indians of the tribe of Osages (related to sioux), used the Latex contained in the fruit (and in the other organs) to paint face and dye their clothes. Indeed, in contact with the air, the latex yellows.

Wood was also used for the manufacture of their arcs, hence the vernacular name of arc wood sometimes given to this tree. The heavy yellow-orange wood, with a fine grain is very dense and very appreciated for tool sleeves, fence posts, and other applications requiring very undeniable wood that resists rot.

Once dry, wood has the highest calorific power of all North American woods commonly available. It burns for a long time and warmly but should not be used in open chimneys without a protective screen because the wood is very inclined to burst and can send sparks and small embers several meters from the hearth.

Unlike many woods, the orange wood of Osages is very durable in contact with the ground. It makes good fence posts, being both solid and durable. They are generally planted in green because dry wood is too difficult to staple. This wood is 2.5 times harder than white oak (Quercus Alba) and twice its resistance to tensile.

Although we generally think that the Osage orange trees repel the insects, there is not enough evidence to support this. Research has shown that compounds extracted from the fruit, when concentrated, can repel insects. However, the natural concentrations of these compounds in the fruits are far too low to make fruit an effective repellent of insects. In the region of Saint-Louis, in the Missouri, on the edge of the Mississippi, the fruits are however used and sold on the farm markets to hunt flies.

In Eastern Europe, traditional medicine uses it against rheumatism, for the healing of injuries or asantibiotic, as well as to stimulate heart activity.

In nature, these fruits are practically not consumed by animals, apart from the squirrels that are looking for seeds. It is not very usual that a large fleshy fruit is not consumed by animals dispersing the seeds. The hypothesis was recently issued that its fruits were once consumed by Megatherium, extinguished shortly after the first human stands on the new world. The horses, which existed in North America but had disappeared before the arrival of the European, can consume them.

You can also make it a superb Halloween decoration by placing it in a jar filled with water. The fruit looks slightly like a brain.

 Contents subject to the CC-BY-SA 3.0 license. Source : article Oranger of Osages by Wikipedia in French (Authors)