Osage Orange

The Osage orange (Maclura pomifera) fruit is neither an orange and nor does it belong to the orange family. It is a member of the mulberry family and gets its name because it looks like an orange from a distance. The flowers of the Osage orange plant are green in color and they bloom in the months of April to June which is followed by the formation of fruits that turn yellow-green on ripening and then fall off in the months of October and November. The Osage orange seeds are the only edible parts of this fruit.

Osage Orange Tree
The Osage orange tree, classified under the deciduous trees type, is a native of eastern Oklahoma and some parts of Texas, Arkansas and Missouri. It is a thorny tree and sheds off its leaves and flowers during fall. The tree is dioecious with separate male and female plants. It grows to about 40 to 60 feet and the circumference of the bark is about 4 to 7 feet. The life span of this shrub is about 75 years and they can produce fruit after 8 to 12 years. The bark of the tree is thick, scaly and brownish orange in color with deep furrows. The color of the juvenile branches are green and slowly turn pale orange brown as the tree matures. The wood and the bark is hard and strong and can be shaped easily.

The leaves are 3-6 inches long and taper towards the end. They turn golden-yellow in winter which gives the tree a beautiful look. The flowers are pale green in color and are small in size. The flowers after pollination form fruits which bear Osage orange seeds. The fruits of Osage Orange tree is commonly called 'multiple fruits' as they are filled with numerous tiny seeds.

Osage orange tree is usually cultivated in fertile soil but does not require any particular type of soil to grow. You need to prune these trees as they overgrow very fast. The shrub has insect repellent properties and so it's a good idea to plant these around the house.

Osage Orange Wood
The Osage orange tree gives out a slight smell of the fruit. The inner part of the Osage orange wood is light yellow in color. This wood is famous for its multiple uses for which these trees are cultivated on a large-scale in the Midwest. As the tree consists of thorns the trees are mainly used to make fence posts. Due to its strength and durability the Osage orange wood is used to make bows and arrows. This property of the Osage orange wood has been exploited for a very long time by the Native Americans. The wood can also be used to make furniture like tables, chairs and cupboards.

Osage Orange Fruits and Seeds
The fruits, as spoken about earlier are round and green, with a rough surface and are filled with a milky latex fluid. Once the flowers are pollinated, the fruits develop and only the juvenile fruits are green in color. The ripened fruit turns golden-yellow and falls off after about six months. Once the fruit falls off, the seeds are exposed and they either get buried in the ground, which gives rise to another The tree is dioecious with separate male and female plants or are carried by birds and insects to other areas. In this way the natural cultivation of the tree is carried out.

Osage Orange Uses
Every part of the Osage orange tree is useful in some way or the other. The Native Americans used the branches and stem of this tree to make war clubs and bows for a very long time. The bark is used to make furniture. As the ripe Osage orange fruit is bright orange in color they can be used to make dyes.

The roots grow very fast and they are rich in resources. They are concentrated with 2,3,4,5-tetrahydroxystilbene which acts as an insect repellent though it doesn't kill the insects. The roots have medicinal properties and can be used to relieve eye irritation. Moreover, the trees neither get infected by fungus or pests nor do they rot, so it's absolutely safe to have them around the house. The male Osage orange tree can be used as an ornamental plant as the leaves of these trees are smooth and have a glaze.

Those were some fantastic facts of Osage orange and their uses. The Osage orange trees are used as ornamental plants and you can opt to plant them in your garden. So, if you are a tree lover, you must have an Osage orange tree.