Maclura Pomifera Tree, Osage Orange Fruit, Hedge Horse Apple

Here is a quick view of the Maclura pomifera tree.
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Maclura Pomifera
Also known as: Osage Orange, Hedge Horse Apple Tree, bowwood, bois-d'arc, and bodark.

Here is a medium sized, deciduous tree that typically grows to 35-60’ tall with a broad rounded crown. It is also commonly grown as a hedgerow shrub at much lower heights. It is native to river valleys and rich bottomlands in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana, but has been widely planted in a variety of environments throughout the United States, and has naturalized in many areas, particularly east of the Mississippi River.

It features orange-brown bark, ovate shiny dark green leaves, milky sap, thorny twigs and large wrinkled fruit. Leaves turn yellow in fall. Osage orange is dioecious (separate male and female trees), with non-showy greenish male and female flowers appearing in clusters on separate trees in June. Fertilized flowers on female trees give way to inedible grapefruit-sized fruits (3-5” diameter). Each fruit is actually a dense cluster of hundreds of small fruits. The fruit has not been found toxic to livestock.

The wood is long lasting, dense and tough. Native Americans used the wood for bows, hence the common name of bowwood. As settlers pushed westward toward the Mississippi River and beyond in the 1800s, fencing materials were quite expensive and in short supply. In lieu of fences, thousands of miles of hedgerows were planted, with osage orange being a prominent inclusion. Osage orange suckers freely and quickly forms an impenetrable barrier due to its thorns. Other parts of the tree are used in food processing and for making furniture, dyes and pesticides.

Easily grown in average, dry to medium, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. Prefers uniformly moist soils, but tolerates both dry and wet conditions. Also tolerates poor soils, drought, heat, cold and wind.
USDA Zone: 4 to 9