Home/Species/ Osage-orange

Maclura pomifera

(Raf.) Schneid.

Osage-orange

G5Secure Found in 23 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →

G5SecureGlobal Rank

Least concernIUCN

Identity

Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.134467

Element CodePDMOR0C010

Record TypeSPECIES

ClassificationSpecies

Classification StatusStandard

Name CategoryVascular Plant

IUCNLeast concern

Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations

KingdomPlantae

PhylumAnthophyta

ClassDicotyledoneae

OrderUrticales

FamilyMoraceae

GenusMaclura

Other Common Names

Bois d'arc (FR) osage orange (EN)

Concept Reference

Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.

Taxonomic Comments

Native range not well determined, apparently in central U.S., now widely naturalized in northern and eastern USA as well. According to Flora of Great Plains (1986), Gleason and Cronquist (1991) and Weakley (1996), M. pomifera is native to TX, OK, AR and perhaps LA; it is naturalized, escaped, or adventive elsewhere.

Conservation Status

Rank MethodExpertise without calculation

Review Date2015-08-15

Change Date2015-08-15

Edition Date2002-10-11

Edition AuthorsMorse, Larry E. (1994), rev. L. Morse (2002)

Rank Reasons

Native range difficult to determine; species is now widely planted, and commonly escapes.

Ecology & Habitat

Other Nations (2)

CanadaNNA

Province	Rank	Native
Ontario	SNA	No

United StatesN4

Province	Rank	Native
Iowa	SNA	No
Rhode Island	SNA	No
New York	SNA	No
Oklahoma	SNR	Yes
Kansas	SNA	No
Michigan	SNA	No
Texas	S5	Yes
Colorado	SNA	No
Connecticut	SNA	No
District of Columbia	SNA	No
Maryland	SNA	No
North Carolina	SNA	No
Florida	SNA	No
Louisiana	SNR	Yes
Ohio	SNA	No
Mississippi	SNA	No
Tennessee	SNA	No
South Carolina	SNA	No
Massachusetts	SNA	No
Alabama	SNA	No
Washington	SNA	No
New Jersey	SNA	No
Virginia	SNA	No
Missouri	SNA	No
West Virginia	SNA	No
Indiana	SNA	No
Pennsylvania	SNA	No
Kentucky	SNA	No
Wisconsin	SNA	No
Illinois	SNA	No
Arkansas	SNR	Yes
Delaware	SNA	No
Nebraska	SNA	No
California	SNA	No
Georgia	SNA	No
South Dakota	SNA	No
Utah	SNA	No
New Mexico	SNA	No

Plant Characteristics

Economic Value (Genus)No

Roadless Areas (23)

Arizona (3)

Area	Forest	Acres
Lower San Francisco	Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests	59,310
Pipestem	Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests	34,598
Tumacacori	Coronado National Forest	44,594

Arkansas (2)

Area	Forest	Acres
East Fork	Ozark-St. Francis National Forest	13,037
Richland Creek	Ozark-St. Francis National Forest	571

California (2)

Area	Forest	Acres
Paiute	Inyo National Forest	58,712
Soldier Canyon	Inyo National Forest	40,589

Idaho (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Bear Creek	Caribou-Targhee National Forest	118,582

New Mexico (7)

Area	Forest	Acres
Arroyo de la Presa	Santa Fe National Forest	6,178
Candian River	Cibola National Forest	7,149
Contiguous To Black & Aldo Leopold Wilderness	Gila National Forest	111,883
El Invierno	Santa Fe National Forest	29,927
Gila Box	Gila National Forest	23,759
Lemitas	Santa Fe National Forest	8,129
Sawyers Peak	Gila National Forest	59,743

Oregon (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Snake River	Wallowa-Whitman National Forest	31,229

South Dakota (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Indian Creek	Buffalo Gap National Grassland	24,666

Tennessee (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Bald Mountain	Cherokee National Forest	11,743

Texas (2)

Area	Forest	Acres
Big Creek	National Forests in Texas	1,447
Little Lake Creek	National Forests in Texas	596

Utah (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Capital Reef	Dixie National Forest	763

Virginia (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Bear Creek	Jefferson National Forest	18,274

West Virginia (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
North Mountain Hopeville	Monongahela National Forest	6,525

References (3)

Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 1997. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 3. Magnoliophyta: Magnoliidae and Hamamelidae. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. xxiii + 590 pp.
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Little, E.L., Jr. 1979. Checklist of United States trees (native and naturalized). Agriculture Handbook No. 541. U.S. Forest Service, Washington, D.C. 375 pp.