Photo courtesy of John Hazlitt.
GODERICH – The woodlot tucked between the Maitland Cemetery and the river that was destroyed by the tornado will inherit an Osage orange this morning.
The move will have the tree, noted for a short trunk and round-topped head, relocated from a residential property in Goderich into the
Photo courtesy of John Hazlitt.
budding arboretum. This tree is seldom recommended for gardens or parks because of its heavy thorns.
Originating in Osage, Arkansas, farmers planted it as a living fence for livestock. The small trees can grow quite thick with branches that zig and zag and knit together. But for livestock it is the nasty sturdy thorn at each elbow on each branch that present a natural barbwire fence.
There is the occasion Osage orange tree hiding in a hedgerow in the Bayfield area.
The fruit is not edible but quite striking. Like its namesake, the orange, it is about 10 to 15 centimetres – the size of a grapefruit – in diameter and has a lime green warty appearance. It has brilliant orange to rich yellow wood that is so dense that it is prized for it durability and strength.
It is being moved with the aid of a hydrovac so no wiring or water lines will be disturbed.
The move is sponsored by Hill and Hill Farms Ltd. and Merner Contracting Ltd., with assistance from Martin Quinn, Goderich’s supervisor of parks and cemeteries, and local resident John Hazlitt.
One Comment on "Thorny tree heads finds safe haven in Goderich’s arboretum"
Thank-you, Heather. This project is 21st century tree-moving.