Osage Orange (Maclura pomifera)

Osage Orange – Tough Tree with Unique Fruit

Maclura pomifera, known as Osage Orange, Bois d'arc, Hedge Apple, or Horse Apple, is a small to medium deciduous tree native to the south-central United States. It is famous for its large, green, brain-like compound fruit (a syncarp) that is inedible to humans but eaten by some wildlife. The wood is extremely hard, dense, and rot-resistant, historically used for bows, fence posts, and tool handles. The tree has stout thorns and forms impenetrable thickets, once widely planted as living fences (hedgerows) before barbed wire. It tolerates extreme heat, drought, and poor soils.

Taxonomic Details