Maclura cochinchinensis Seeds | Cockspur Thorn
LATIN NAME: Maclura cochinchinensis
COMMON NAME: Cockspur Thorn
Plant Profile
A distinctive member of its genus, Cockspur Thorn (Maclura cochinchinensis) is a tough, sprawling, evergreen shrub in the mulberry family. Cockspur thorn is a plant that most people pass without a second glance. Plant has a long, quiet record of use in hedges and old practice of warm regions. It is a plant of open, sunny, well-drained ground. Its flowers draw a steady traffic of bees and other beneficial insects. Gardeners value it precisely for this blend of qualities.
Science & Biotechnology
Seed science, comparative botany and horticultural selection all touch on Maclura cochinchinensis, a representative of the mulberry family with clear practical value. Dark-green, glossy leaves and tough, sprawling habit have also made it a fine garden plant, and cockspur thorn is a regular figure in studies of old hedges and tough shrubs of warm world. The practical point for growers is that this plant has been observed in gardens for so long that its behaviour holds few surprises.
Uses & Benefits
Beyond its ornamental appeal, Cockspur Thorn has the practical versatility that makes a plant worth growing from seed year after year. Cockspur thorn is a tough, useful plant of warm hedges and old practice. Strong, straight spines make plant a fine, impenetrable hedge and barrier of warm regions, and small, orange-yellow fruits and inner bark have their own long record in old practice of the East. Dark-green, glossy foliage keeps plant neat through year, and fruits draw birds of warm season. Thereafter it wants only the ordinary attentions any garden plant receives.
Osage orange bears inedible but insect-repelling fruits and America’s most rot-resistant fencepost wood; its bright heartwood yields a traditional yellow dye.
Growing from Seed
Seed is the natural starting point for Cockspur Thorn, and the process is uncomplicated. Use a fine, free-draining seed compost, scatter the seed evenly, cover it lightly and hold it just moist in good light. Prick the seedlings out once they are large enough to handle, grow them on in bright light, and plant out when conditions allow.
Our Take
Given the right start, Cockspur Thorn is a long-term garden companion. What it needs is basic: sun, drainage, and a little patience while it establishes.
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