Just wondering if I'm seeing this right...this is Osage isn't it?


   

   

 

   

 
Josh

Looks like most of it is! Some nice lookin staves there!

The leaves in the photos are not Osage. They are sugar maple.  The larger trunks look like they may be Osage but they are might tall to be Osage.  Most Osage is not to terribly vertical.

The leaves would give it away easily if I could see them

if it has thorns or what we call horseapples on it it is. the bottom three pics sure look like it according to the bark

It's hedge (osage).

QuoteOriginally posted by kennym:
Looks like most of it is! Some nice lookin staves there!

There are about 50-60 trees in this fencerow on our farm.  They seem to make up the majority of the fencerow and average around 6" to 24" in dia.  

The leaves I think looked like this...if you could blow up the photo's you'd see a bunch in the photo's.

 

More of the tree's:

 

 

 

There is a lot of trees to pick from...just need too find the right ones.  There are osage balls up and down the fencerow every year.

Josh

QuoteOriginally posted by Richie Nell:
The leaves in the photos are not Osage. They are sugar maple.  The larger trunks look like they may be Osage but they are might tall to be Osage.  Most Osage is not to terribly vertical.

The leaves would give it away easily if I could see them

There is some maples in the mix you are correct....I was trying to get an upclose of the trunk to show the bark.

Josh

QuoteOriginally posted by Richie Nell:
The leaves in the photos are not Osage. They are sugar maple.  The larger trunks look like they may be Osage but they are might tall to be Osage.  Most Osage is not to terribly vertical.

The leaves would give it away easily if I could see them

Most are not overly straight but are quite tall...it goes in many directions.

Josh

Yes ...It is Osage Orange trees, Mcclura Pomifera, Bois d'arc, Mock Orange...and more.

Them seem much more vertical than the norm which is good for bows of course.  In central Alabama and Mississippi the tree's crowns are spreading more.

It is such a cool tree.

Das da stuff! You can tell for sure in the pic with them in a row as well as the leaves and bark. It was planted as a living fence way back when and eventually they stopped tending it to a hedge and it grew up into trees.  Time to make selfbows!

If it is it will drop appeles in a few months.

I am dizzy! LOL!

There's none around here, that's for sure.

On the second from the last picture of the first set you posted you can see the trunk on the left has a barber pole bark pattern twisting around the trunk. This is something to avoid when you select a tree to cut for bow wood.

those trees are EVERYWHERE here in central IN. Make one heck of a hot fire too, but they are hard on chainsaws.

QuoteOriginally posted by Bjorn:
I am dizzy! LOL!

I take it your an osage fan...if you weren't so far way I'd have ya come and cut one down.

Thanks guys for the help on this, it is a very old field that use to be 7 fields.  We cleared them all away to make a 140-acre field.  I wonder how much Osage was out there before it was all torn down granted that was about 25 years ago, still remember picking up all the roots and rocks.  There is more down another edge that I don't have pictures of.  The stuff is everywhere, along with cedar stumps galore.

There are at least 15 trees that are 8" to 14" in dia and straight to 20 feet or better.

Josh