Hedge (Osage orange)? What is it?

[Sinngetreu]

I stopped by the local compost pile today and scored this extremely heavy wood. Whatever it is its gotta burn well when its dry ! Is it Hedge (Osage orange) or am I dreaming? I believe this to be pretty fresh cut.

 

[nrford]

Looks like the way I remember it looking.

 

[Thistle]

I'd say yes going by the bark,wood is spot on also.

With what the temps have been lately here & in your neck of the woods,that's be a welcome sight to have for overnights if it was dry.

Been years now but what I remember it dries fairly well - 12-18 months once split/stacked.

 

[brian89gp]

Yup.

 

[osagebow]

Giggity

 

[Sinngetreu]

NICE I've been looking for BL, but this will work. I just wanted some confirmation before I got too excited.
I wish it were dry, I could use it tonight.

 

[JRJ]

Here is my Osage orange

 

[Jon1270]

Osage and mulberry can sometimes look awfully similar. One method I've read about for confirming is to soak some chips in water. Osage has a soluble dye that will color the water, while mulberry does not.

 

[BobUrban]

Locust wishes it were osage - two of the most dense woods native to North America and both are coveted by self bowyers. Osage is best for bows but locust is no slouch and BOTH will throw some heat! Getting it pre-buck is definitely the coupe de' gras - that stuff can be nasty to process but worth every once of effort.

The other great thing is it rots slower than steel so you would leave it uncover and stacked in mud for years w/o loosing one BTU - seriously!

John1270 is spot on. a few scraps of sage will turn a bucket of water orange. Mulberry is high grade wood so in the event it is NOT osage you still scored big!!

 

[HackBerry]

Doesn't look like Osage to me. The bark should have an orange hue and the wood should be a striking yellow, like mustard, when freshly cut and then weather to a dark yellow-orange. Could be the lighting with the camera. When split it should pop and sound like bowling pins.

 

[Soundchasm]

Sinn, I don't know enough for a 100% ID, but there might be room for doubt. Hackberry's mustard bit is right-on. Weight=heavy. Mine dries to a cinnamon color. I'm not sure I'm seeing the orange hue bark, and the bark kind of flakes off like it was painted on in layers. The growth rings seem big compared to what I have, but they're the same size as JRJ's confirmed piece. Here are some shots to worry you until you confirm you DID get hedge, and it'll be all the more sweeter. I've got the Osage up against a piece of Elm which seemed similar in color and growth rings, and it was really heavy, too.

 

[Hickorynut]

It is either hedge or mulberry, definitely not locust.

 

[Missouri Frontier]

looks like Hedge from my place. good score you'll love it. hottest stuff you are bound to come across. It kicks my stove up another notch.

 

[Missouri Frontier]

I stopped by the local compost pile today and scored this extremely heavy wood. Whatever it is its gotta burn well when its dry ! Is it Hedge (Osage orange) or am I dreaming? I believe this to be pretty fresh cut.

View attachment 125561 View attachment 125562 View attachment 125564

Doesnt appear fresh cut. not yellow enough. if you look at my previous post. my hedge is the same color as yours and mine had spent years on the ground. split yours and check moisture. you might be suprised. it might be dry enough already. only the wood open to the air turns dark.

 

[Paulywalnut]

Osage and Mulberry either one is good. Osage is a mixture of Locust and dynamite.

 

[Corey]

Sure looks like mulberry to me. Especially that lone piece standing up with the bark. Plus, the pieces generally look too straight and you've got a couple of 18" clean sections with no cross branches, crotches, or bends... that's not hedge.

(broken link removed to http://www.oplin.org/tree/fact%20pages/mulberry_red/mulberry_red.html)

(broken image removed)

 

[Sinngetreu]

Gosh darn it, now I can see it either way.
I have lots of Mulberry on my property and it doesn't remind me of that so I guessed Hedge. The heartwood is TOTALLY mustard color. That is a great description of it. I am guessing that it was fairly freshly cut, but it was a scrounge, so who knows.
JRJ's pics are a pretty good rep. The end grain is a splitting image of mine, but the bark looks slightly different (not a lot, it could just be twisting of the bark that makes it look different). It does seem to be missing the orange color in the bark.
I might have to try the test with the chips and water.
An interesting development, in the 24 hour period that I had one of the pieces in the house, the end exposed to the stove warmth is remarkably darker than the end that was sitting on the concrete. In other words, one end is a dark yellow and the other is a lighter mustard color.

Well... either way, I'll burn it.
I am going to be downing some Mulberry later, I'll have to see how it compares to my confirmed trees.

 

[Soundchasm]

Well, looks like a bunch of us are on the edge of our seats, so if you were an ancient Saturday cartoon, you'd cue William Conrad to announce, "Be sure to tune in next week for the exciting conclusion of the Chips In Water test!"

I've only processed one Osage, and there wasn't a lot of "straight" to it. Never seen mulberry that I know of, but the quick color change sounds good for hedge. Here are old and new cuts. This was downed in 2010, and the new cuts are obvious.

 

[Dogbyte]

Check my avatar, that is Osage, it's the shellac'd end of a 80 inch stave.

 

[Sinngetreu]

Well, looks like a bunch of us are on the edge of our seats, so if you were an ancient Saturday cartoon, you'd cue William Conrad to announce, "Be sure to tune in next week for the exciting conclusion of the Chips In Water test!"

I've only processed one Osage, and there wasn't a lot of "straight" to it. Never seen mulberry that I know of, but the quick color change sounds good for hedge. Here are old and new cuts. This was downed in 2010, and the new cuts are obvious.

I know, this is starting to drive me crazy.
The pic of the pile is somewhat misleading because there is a lot of "arcs" and turns to it so it kind of piled up like that.

Here is a pic of the same round one day later and split. Talk about bowling pins. The first one is with a flash and the second one is without a flash.

 

[Dogbyte]

Got a pic of the seeds =P lol I'm torn between Osage or mulberry, close close cousins.

 

[Sinngetreu]

Got a pic of the seeds =P lol I'm torn between Osage or mulberry, close close cousins.

No, unfortunately I don't. That would totally clear up things.

 

[Dogbyte]

I am voting mulberry. Sap wood and heartwood contrast, along with no typical yellow tint, the bark looks like Osage and mulberry is the only thing I know of to guess with. Plus unless that came off a fence row, it's a bit straight grained if it's Osage, while mulberry usually grows straight yet leaning from a wad of trunks, you can see where the grain is in compression and tension. Small rings on the gravity side, wide rings on the opposite side that's in tension.

 

[osagebow]

Still hard to see on my tablet...the knots look right...something bout the sapwood though...I'd know if I was there
Oh well, here's a pic of some fresh straight pieces, including 1 seen in my profile pic

 

[Dogbyte]

Still hard to see on my tablet...the knots look right...something bout the sapwood though...I'd know if I was there
Oh well, here's a pic of some fresh straight pieces, including 1 seen in my profile pic

Lookin good, that yellow is unmistakable. Good lookin splits too. Little darlings.