North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Lucky Pittman <lucky.pittman@murraystate.edu>]

Deb,
You mentioned Osage Orange.  It's commonly used as a cold-hardy(and readily 
available) rootstock for the edible Chinese Che fruit (Cudrania 
tricuspidata).  You could plant some OO, let the stems run up 4-6 ft, then 
topwork them to Che, and have a source of edible fruits.
While I (and a number of others here) wouldn't necessarily place them in 
the edible category, trifoliate orange(Poncirus trifoliata) and its dwarf, 
contorted form, 'Flying Dragon', could certainly have a place in the 
'thorny' category; I don't recall where you're located, but I know of 
trifoliates growing outdoors, in the ground, and doing well, as far north 
as Cincinnati, OH.


Lucky Pittman
USDA Cold Zone 6
AHS Heat Zone 7
Hopkinsville, KY