Hedge apples9/4/2023 ![]() The fruits can be an awful mess with their thick, tough rind and lots of sticky, white sap. The fruit ball turns from yellow-green to bright yellow in autumn and has been described as dangerous if you are unfortunate enough to be underneath one when it falls from the tree. Each fruit is actually made up of many fruits coalesced into one unit. The "apple" fruits are huge, 4-6 inch diameter warty balls, about the size of softballs. Today, most consider the plant to be a weedy, pest plant, but it’s not uncommon to still see trees growing in windbreaks or unmanaged wild areas. However, it’s not a great tree for home landscapes – due to the thorns and concussion-inducing fruits. Female trees will produce fruits, even without male trees nearby, but the fruits will be seedless. Male trees are fruitless a few male cultivars with few thorns include ‘Whiteshield’ and ‘Wichita’, but they are relatively difficult to find in the nursery trade. Trees are dioecious, producing separate female and male trees. The leaves are a bright shiny green in summer, changing to yellow in fall. It grows surprisingly fast for a dense-wooded tree, reaching 9-12 feet in a 3 to 5 year period. They grows well on difficult sites, including soil too alkaline for other trees. These deciduous trees are medium-sized, reaching 20-40 feet at maturity with a similar width. It’s now considered to be "naturalized" throughout much of the eastern United States and beyond. Its tendency to develop branches low on the trunk and its wicked thorns created impermeable thicket making a great livestock barrier. It was widely planted throughout the Midwest in the 1800’s as a living fence. Settlers found it transplanted easily, tolerated poor soils, extreme heat and strong winds, having no serious insect or disease problems. This region is the home of the Osage Indians, from whom the tree gets its common name. Osage orange is native to southwestern United States - a small area of eastern Texas, southeastern Oklahoma and southwestern Arkansas. ![]() The bark produces a bright yellow pigment, used to dye clothes and baskets. European settlers used the wood for axe handles, wheel hubs, railroad ties, furniture, decks and fence posts. The Osage Indians used its wood for bows, tool handles and war clubs. Its wood is extremely durable, dense and naturally rot-resistant. It’s actually a member of the mulberry family, which contains mulberry and fig. Its not a member of the citrus family the fruits are nothing like oranges and are not edible. Botanically, it’s known as Maclura pomifera. This tree has many names, so depending on where you're from you may know it as hedge-apple, Osage-orange, bodark, bowwood and bois d'arc. Native Americans prized the tree for its use in making longbows and other war weapons, officials with the Ozark National Scenic Riverways explain.Do hedge apples really repel insects? They're available in grocery stores now, but do they work? And where does such a strange fruit come from? There are many uniquely curious plants and hedge apple is one. (Getty)ĭue to its strength, the wood was used to build wagon wheel rims, mine support timbers, and other items. Osage Orange tree tunnel in late autumn at Sugarcreek Metropark, Bellbrook, Dayton, Ohio. Many bird species, squirrels, and deer enjoy it. Other members of the Osage orange family include the mulberry and the fig. When the female trees’ fruit is ready, it is 3 to 5 inches across and falls to the ground in September and October. The yellow-green fruit known as “hedge apples” is produced by the Osage orange tree. Before barbwire was invented, pioneers would move trees to the area and use them as a living fence. Hedge apple trees are not native to the Ozarks, according to the Ozark National Scenic Riverways. The trees are known for their thorns and large green fruit, which have a lot of uses, though not all of them actually work. LOUIS ( KTVI) – Along rivers, the Osage orange - also known as hedge apple, bois d’arc, bodark, bodock, or bow-wood - flourishes.
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