Maclura
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| Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture |
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Maclura (after Wm. Maclure, an American geologist). Syn. Toxylon. Moraceae, Osage Orange. Bow- Wood. Tree chiefly grown as a hedge plant, also planted as an ornamental tree for its handsome bright green foliage and the conspicuous orange-like fruit. Deciduous, with milky sap: branches with axillary thorns: lvs. alternate, entire, slender-petioled, with minute stipules: fls. dioecious, minute, apetalous; calyx 4-lobed; the staminate pedicelled, in pendulous racemes on spur-like branchlets of the previous year; stamens 4; pistillate sessile, in axillary dense globose heads on short peduncles; ovary 1-celled with a long filiform plumose stigma: drupelets oblong, collected into a globose compound; fr. mamillate on the surface.—One species in N. Amer. It is sometimes described under Toxylon, but this name is replaced with Maclura by the "nomina conservanda" of the international rules. The osage orange is a medium-sized spiny tree with spreading branches, forming an open irregular head, with rather large bright green leaves changing to clear yellow in fall and with inconspicuous greenish flowers followed by greenish yellow orange-like but inedible fruits in the pistillate tree. It is hardy as far north as Massachusetts. It is not particular as to the soil; its roots are very long and voracious feeders. Much planted for hedges chiefly in the Middle West. The bark of the root is used as a yellow dye; that of the trunk sometimes for tanning leather. In Europe the tree is sometimes grown as food for the silkworm. Propagation is usually by seeds, which germinate readily; also by root-cuttings and by greenwood cuttings under glass. The osage orange, before the advent of wire fences, was an extremely popular hedge plant, meeting general requirements better than any other plant suitable to our climate. It is used considerably, and when properly attended to from the start makes a hedge in a short time of a fairly defensive nature. Most dealers in tree seeds keep seeds of the osage orange, and those who grow the plants procure the seed in spring, drilling it in rows. The osage orange grows readily from seed, even when the latter is a year old. The sowing in rows gives the seedlings a chance to become stocky by fall, and plants 2 feet high the first year are not uncommon. These one-year-old plants are quite good enough for hedging. Nurserymen who grow them for sale usually dig the plants in the fall, storing them away in a cool cellar, the roots buried in sand. They are then sorted into two grades, which compose first- and second-class plants. At the time of grading, the tops are chopped off somewhat, leaving about 6 inches of length only. This fits them for planting without more cutting. The place where a hedge is desired should be well cleared of all weeds. If cultivated for a year in advance, so much the better, as it will make the keeping down of weeds a much easier task. There are two ways of planting a hedge; viz., single row and double row. The double row is made by setting the plants 9 inches apart each way, the plants in the second row coming between those in the first row. forming a zigzag line. The single row, however, is good enough, and is much easier to cultivate and keep clear of weeds. In single rows set the plants 6 inches apart. The soil need not be over-rich for the osage orange. The plant is a strong grower naturally, and soil in fair condition will give a growth more tractable to form a good hedge than a rank growth from rich soil. When dug, the osage plants have very long roots, and the ends of these may be chopped off without disadvantage. If the plants are held in bunches and the roots chopped to an even length, the setting will be an easy task. The tops will have been already cut off if treated in the way above suggested. Beyond cultivation of the plants, nothing is required the first year. By fall a good growth should have been made, and toward spring this should be cut back, leaving about 6 inches of the young growth. The season following, more care must be given to forming a hedge. When in full growth, say in July, shear off the tops of the plants. This will cause the side shoots to develop; and it is these side shoots which will form the base of the hedge. Another light trimming should be given when growth is over for the season, to bring the plants into a hedge shape. Much the same work will be required every year,—a trimming when growth is in full swing to make the hedge bushy, and another later on to shape it. The proper shape for a hedge is the conical form, though it may be flat-sided or in any shape desired, provided the upper branches never overlap the lower. Of late years a system of planting the osage orange differing from the one described has been followed by some. Strong two-year-old plants are procured and are planted in a slanting position. As the new growth is made it rises in an upright way as usual, and this produces a lattice-like appearance of the branches, and a very strong hedge. It is certainly stronger than a common hedge, and yet a common one properly looked after forms a defensive fence, meeting all requirements, and costs not nearly so much as the other. See Hedges.
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References
- Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963
