| 0 | Ames 2945 | 'K-2' | Maclura pomifera (Raf.) C. K. Schneid. | Kansas, United States | NC7 | | Not Available | 1984 | COLLECTED | 02/08/1978 | Collected in the vicinity of highway 81 including Sumner, Sedgwick and Harvey Counties. | 37.81221100, -97.33505900 | | Roadside. | Clone | The native range for Osage-orange is reported from eastern Texas, southeastern Oklahoma, southwestern Arkansas, and the northwestern corner of Louisiana (Little, 1971). Historically and presently known for its extreme value as bow-wood and fence posts, Osage-orange represents one of the most widely planted tree species in the lower 48 US states as a living fence starting in the mid-1800's, in the late 1900's as a landscape tree for difficult sites, and most recently it's chemical properties. Detailed history of Osage-orange and it's economic uses are well documented (Smith and Perino, 1981 and J. T. Winberry 1979). Osage wood is highly-prized for its use as fence posts (both living and non-living) and durable wood for wood working. Osage is an extremely drought and heat tolerant tree and is recommended for use in USDA cold-hardiness zones 5b or warmer. Although the species is commonly known for it's stout thorns and large, globular fruits, the species is dioecious and the degree of thorns on individual genotypes can be extremely variable. In the 1970's Al Ferguson (Iowa Arboretum) and John Pair (Kansas State University) evaluated select clones, typically thornless, male selections that were acquired across portions of the Midwest. This accession represents the clonal selection K-2. Based on notes by Ferguson, a total of "6 or 7 clones were collected in Kansas with three clones K-1, K-2, and K-3 selected for further evaluation" due to vigor and "relatively thornless" and "all male". A letter from Al Ferguson to John Pair in 1978, indicated "K-2 was the strongest grower" (comparison against K-1, K-2, and K-3). The first specimen of K-2 donated to NCRPIS was in 1984 by Al Ferguson. In 2006, the specimen was coppiced near the soil level to generate better wood for cutting collection. In 2024, this specimen was noted producing fruit (female) and thornless. Whether this 1984 specimen was incorrectly identified as male by Ferguson is one possibility, but other issues (e.g. propagation via rootstock suckers rather than K-2 scion; labeling mix-up; resprouting of rootstock following coppicing; etc.) may exist. In 2012, Andy Schmitz (Brenton Arboretum) propagated off the 1984 NCRPIS specimen via cuttings which resulted in propagules that formed numerous thorns. Later in 2020 and 2024, propagation by A. Schmitz was executed off a K-2 specimen located at the John C. Pair Horticultural Center, which did not develop thorns and specimens were subsequently donated to NCRPIS. Currently the 1984, 2020, and 2024 specimens are under further evaluation at NCRPIS. | 1022650 | Ames 2945 |
| 1 | Ames 2946 | 'K-3' | Maclura pomifera (Raf.) C. K. Schneid. | Kansas, United States | NC7 | | Not Available | 1984 | COLLECTED | 02/08/1978 | Collected in the vicinity of highway 81 including Sumner, Sedgwick and Harvey Counties. | 37.47818300, -97.33344000 | | Roadside. | Clone | The native range for Osage-orange is reported from eastern Texas, southeastern Oklahoma, southwestern Arkansas, and the northwestern corner of Louisiana (Little, 1971). Historically and presently known for its extreme value as bow-wood and fence posts, Osage-orange represents one of the most widely planted tree species in the lower 48 US states as a living fence starting in the mid-1800's, in the late 1900's as a landscape tree for difficult sites, and most recently it's chemical properties. Detailed history of Osage-orange and it's economic uses are well documented (Smith and Perino, 1981 and J. T. Winberry 1979). Osage wood is highly-prized for its use as fence posts (both living and non-living) and durable wood for wood working. Osage is an extremely drought and heat tolerant tree and is recommended for use in USDA cold-hardiness zones 5b or warmer. Although the species is commonly known for it's stout thorns and large, globular fruits, the species is dioecious and the degree of thorns on individual genotypes can be extremely variable. In the 1970's Al Ferguson (Iowa Arboretum) and John Pair (Kansas State University) evaluated select clones, typically thornless, male selections that were acquired across portions of the Midwest. Based on notes by Ferguson, a total of "6 or 7 clones were collected in Kansas with three clones K-1, K-2, and K-3 selected for further evaluation" due to vigor and "relatively thornless" and "all male". A letter from Al Ferguson to John Pair in 1978, indicated "K-2 was the strongest grower" (comparison against K-1, K-2, and K-3). This accession represents the selection K-3, a clonal, thornless male. | 1022651 | Ames 2946 |
| 2 | Ames 2947 | 'Keokuk' | Maclura pomifera (Raf.) C. K. Schneid. | Iowa, United States | NC7 | | | 1984 | COLLECTED | NEAR 1980 | Along Highway 21, north of What Cheer, northwest corner of Keokuk County. | 41.46821400, -92.35496300 | | Roadside hedgerow. | Cultivar | The native range for Osage-orange is reported from eastern Texas, southeastern Oklahoma, southwestern Arkansas, and the northwestern corner of Louisiana (Little, 1971). Historically and presently known for its extreme value as bow-wood and fence posts, Osage-orange represents one of the most widely planted tree species in the lower 48 US states as a living fence starting in the mid-1800's, in the late 1900's as a landscape tree for difficult sites, and most recently it's chemical properties. Detailed history of Osage-orange and it's economic uses are well documented (Smith and Perino, 1981 and J. T. Winberry 1979). Osage wood is highly-prized for its use as fence posts (both living and non-living) and durable wood for wood working. Osage is an extremely drought and heat tolerant tree and is recommended for use in USDA cold-hardiness zones 5b or warmer. Although the species is commonly known for it's stout thorns and large, globular fruits, the species is dioecious and the degree of thorns on individual genotypes can be extremely variable. In the 1970's Al Ferguson (Iowa Arboretum) and John Pair (Kansas State University) evaluated select clones, typically thornless, male selections that were acquired across portions of the Midwest. Based on notes by Ferguson, a total of "5 clones were collected along highway 21 north of What Cheer in Keokuk County Iowa with two clones named Keokuk and What Cheer selected for further evaluation" due to vigor and "relatively thornless" and "all male". This accession represents the selection Keokuk, a clonal, thornless male. | 1022658 | Ames 2947 |
| 3 | Ames 2948 | 'What Cheer' | Maclura pomifera (Raf.) C. K. Schneid. | Iowa, United States | NC7 | | Not Available | 1984 | COLLECTED | NEAR 1980 | Along Highway 21, north of What Cheer, northwest corner of Keokuk County. | 41.43194600, -92.35583400 | | Roadside hedgerow. | Clone | The native range for Osage-orange is reported from eastern Texas, southeastern Oklahoma, southwestern Arkansas, and the northwestern corner of Louisiana (Little, 1971). Historically and presently known for its extreme value as bow-wood and fence posts, Osage-orange represents one of the most widely planted tree species in the lower 48 US states as a living fence starting in the mid-1800's, in the late 1900's as a landscape tree for difficult sites, and most recently it's chemical properties. Detailed history of Osage-orange and it's economic uses are well documented (Smith and Perino, 1981 and J. T. Winberry 1979). Osage wood is highly-prized for its use as fence posts (both living and non-living) and durable wood for wood working. Osage is an extremely drought and heat tolerant tree and is recommended for use in USDA cold-hardiness zones 5b or warmer. Although the species is commonly known for it's stout thorns and large, globular fruits, the species is dioecious and the degree of thorns on individual genotypes can be extremely variable. In the 1970's Al Ferguson (Iowa Arboretum) and John Pair (Kansas State University) evaluated select clones, typically thornless, male selections that were acquired across portions of the Midwest. Based on notes by Ferguson, a total of "5 clones were collected along highway 21 north of What Cheer in Keokuk County Iowa with two clones named Keokuk and What Cheer selected for further evaluation" due to vigor and "relatively thornless" and "all male". This accession represents the selection What Cheer, a clonal, thornless male. | 1022659 | Ames 2948 |