Biological Name:
Maclura pomifera (Osage-Orange)
Natural Habitat:
Osage-Orange: The natural habitat of Osage-Orange is in wooded areas, forests, and along streams, in the central and eastern regions of North America.
Description:
Osage-orange is a type of flowering plant that is commonly found in fields and other grassy areas. It is a member of the Moraceae family which also includes plants such as figs and mulberries. Osage-orange is an annual or perennial plant that produces small green or yellow flowers and clusters of seeds. The plant is often used as a cover crop to improve soil health and suppress weeds. It is also known for its ability to tolerate a wide range of growing conditions including wet or dry soils. In some areas osage-orange is considered a weed because of its ability to invade cultivated areas and cause allergies and other health problems.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: Is Osage orange poisonous to humans?
A: The fruit is not poisonous to humans or livestock, but is not preferred by them, because it is mostly inedible due to a large size (about the diameter of a softball) and hard, dry texture. The edible seeds of the fruit are used by squirrels as food.
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Q: Can you eat the fruit of the Osage orange tree?
A: Despite many misinterpretations of the fruit being inedible, the fruit is edible but is not commonly consumed due to its unpalatable features such as the bitter flavor and unpleasant latex-like liquid that can irritate the skin. Beyond the flesh, the seeds are edible and can be toasted.
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Q: What did Native Americans use Osage oranges for?
A: Indians had other uses for the Osage orange. The stout wood was well suited for war clubs and tomahawk handles. The ridged and scaly bark of the trunk provided both a fiber for rope and tannin for making leather. Root tea was used to wash sore eyes and the roots and inner bark were used to make a light orange dye.
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Q: Can you touch hedge apples?
A: Hedge apple, or Osage-orange, trees are not related to apples or oranges and their fruit is inedible. The milky juice present in the stems and juice may cause irritation to the skin so be cautious if you are handling them.
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Q: Do any animals eat Osage oranges?
A: The seeds pass through the animal and are deposited, with natural fertilizer, away from the shade and roots of the parent tree where they are more likely to germinate. But no native animal eats Osage-orange fruits.
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Q: Is Osage orange good for anything?
A: Uses of Osage Orange Timber Osage Orange timber is extremely durable and is considered to be one of the most decay resistant woods in North America, sometimes being used for railway ties and fence posts. It’s also a very strong wood, and highly prized for making archery bows.
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Q: Do Osage oranges get rid of spiders?
A: Myth: “Hedge apples”” (Osage orange fruit) or horse chestnuts can be used to repel spiders. Fact: The story that the fruit of the Osage orange tree (also called hedge apple monkey ball or spider ball) can repel or ward off spiders turns out to be extremely widespread in Midwestern states where the trees are common.”
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Q: What are Osage trees good for?
A: The tree also serves as a windbreak. Its hard yellow-orange wood, formerly used for bows and war clubs by the Osage and other Native American tribes, is sometimes used for railway ties and fence posts. The wood yields a yellow dye. The Osage orange has simple oval leaves that are borne alternately along the stems.
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Q: What kills Osage orange trees?
A: Apparently, amine-based herbicides are much more effective than ester-based herbicides in treating Osage-orange. This of course is not the case with all trees. Pathway is ready to use (RTU), meaning no mixing is required and also comes with a blue marker dye. Garlon 3A should be applied as a 50-50 solution with water.
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Q: Can you grow Osage orange from the fruit?
A: Some local farmers still use Osage orange for fence posts. Each mature Osage orange fruit contains as many as 200 seeds. Growing the trees is easy once you gain access to the seed.
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Q: What can I do with Osage orange fruit?
A: Many swear that Osage oranges chase away all manner of bugs from a house. They set them in cupboards and behind furniture as natural exterminators. The fruit and wood of the Osage orange tree does contain tetrahydroxystilbene, an anti-fungicide that may deter insects.
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Q: Are hedge apples the same as Osage oranges?
A: No matter what you call it, there’s no question that the tree known botanically as Maclura pomifera is a unique curiosity. Depending on where you’re from, this tree has such names as hedge-apple, osage orange, bodark, bowwood and bois d’arc!
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Q: What is Osage orange good for?
A: Uses of Osage Orange Timber Osage Orange timber is extremely durable and is considered to be one of the most decay resistant woods in North America, sometimes being used for railway ties and fence posts. It’s also a very strong wood, and highly prized for making archery bows.
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Q: Do Osage orange keep spiders away?
A: Myth: “Hedge apples”” (Osage orange fruit) or horse chestnuts can be used to repel spiders. Fact: The story that the fruit of the Osage orange tree (also called hedge apple
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or spider ball) can repel or ward off spiders turns out to be extremely widespread in Midwestern states
where the trees are common.”
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Q: Do hedge balls keep mice away?
A: The oils in hedge apples are well known for repelling pests such as spiders and mice.
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Q: Can humans eat hedge apples?
A: are hedge apples edible? The straighter answer is, hedge apples, also known as Osage oranges, are inedible. The hedge apple is inedible not because of its ugly taste and appearance but because of the latex, the fruit secrets that can irritate the human skin.
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Q: Why do hedge apples repel spiders?
A: Hedge apples have long been though to help repel spiders. Although there is little to no scientific evidence to back it up, many still routinely ring their homes with the fruit each fall. Although many swear it to be effective, in reality, there is zero scientific evidence to support the legend.
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