Osage Orange
Scientific Name: Maclura pomifera
Common Name: Osage orange
Plant Family: Moraceae
Etymology: The common name, Osage orange, comes from both the orange scent of the fruit and the Osage nation, which was based around the Mississippi River and heavily used the tree. The scientific name comes from geologist William Maclura and pomifera meaning apple.
Indigenous Uses
The bark, which was high in tannins was used for dye, and the branches were used as bows due to their flexibility and were highly prized.
Medicinal Uses
It was used by indigenous groups and people in Bolivia as a treatment for cancer, sore eyes and tooth aches. It is known to contain various antibacterial, antimicrobial, and antitumor components and is being investigated for preventing or lessening the effects of Alzheimer’s.
Edible Parts
The Osage orange is typically known to be inedible, however some people still eat the seeds.
Gathering and Using
Although inedible, many people end up using the Osage orange fruits as a decoration in the fall after they have grown and are ripe. Branches can be collected at any time, although spring and fall are probably best.
Permaculture Functions and Considerations
Native to Texas and the South, Osage-Orange was brought elsewhere to be used as a hedgerow and natural fence as it was thorny and medium-sized. The sap from the tree may keep rabbits and deer away and the smell has been said to keep away certain insects.
How to Identify
The tree has furrowed orange/orange-brown bark and has thorns on young twigs at the leaf scars. Leaves are elongated, pointed, and egg-shaped. Easily recognizable by its grapefruit-sized, bumpy and wrinkled lime-green fruits in the fall. The sap is milky and may cause irritation in certain people. Flowers, which resemble a hairy ball, bloom in late spring to early summer.
Wildlife Support
At least two moths use the Osage orange as a host plant and smaller mammals such as squirrels will open the fruit and eat the seeds.
Additional Information
The native range of the Osage orange was small areas of Oklahoma and Texas, but it has now been naturalized throughout most of the United States.
Sources
Penn State Extension. (n.d.). The osage orange: Useless or useful?. Penn State Extension.
Petrides, G. A., & Wehr, J. (1998). A field guide to Eastern Trees: Eastern United States and Canada, including the Midwest. Houghton Mifflin.