PHOTO PROVIDED The Osage orange tree produces an abundance of lime-colored fruits that simply fall to the ground and rot, becoming a nuisance to the homeowners that have this tree growing in their yards.

By now most plants will have shed their leaves and dispersed their seeds. There are many fascinating ways in which the plants ensure that their seeds will be dispersed and have a chance of germinating.

Seeds are dispersed by wind; floating on water; hitchhiking on animal fur and being shot from the parent plant by pressure put on the seeds. These traveling seeds have special features and structures that help them take advantage of the free rides. The plants usually produce an abundant supply of seeds, which are eaten by a host of wildlife. Nature provides each plant species with an animal that seeks out its seeds, enabling the plant to travel away from the parent tree.

However, there is one tree that does not appear to attract wildlife when its seeds are dispersed. The Osage orange tree produces an abundance of lime-colored fruits that simply fall to the ground and rot, becoming a nuisance to the homeowners that have this tree growing in their yards. Nature has not designed an animal that will seek out the Osage orange fruit to feast upon its seeds.

Each lime-colored fruit ball is the size of an orange, measuring three to five inches in diameter. One fruit ball could contain as many as 300 seeds. Some say that squirrels feed upon the seeds; however, to do this, squirrels must spend much energy in reaching the tiny seeds. Before reaching the seeds, a squirrel must rip apart the tough, stringy outer fruit, and then remove the slimy covering around the seed. This is a lot of work for the squirrel considering cones and nuts are easily available. 

The Osage orange’s scientific name is Maclura pomifera. Thomas Nuttall named the Maclura in honor of his close friend, William McClure, a geologist, librarian and philanthropist from New Harmony, Indiana. Nuttall found the tree growing in the rich bottom land of the Red River. Pomifera comes from two Latin words: pomi, which means fruit, fera, which means bearing (a fruit bearing tree).

Although the common name of Osage comes from the Osage Indian Tribe, the orange comes from the fact that it resembles an orange; however, the fruit is not edible. The fruit balls are made up of numerous drupes crowded together. The Osage orange is a cousin to the mulberry tree, and when looking closer at its fruit, you will see that it is basically an overgrown green mulberry.

Osage orange wood is stronger than white oak wood and as tough as hickory wood. The Osage Indians used the wood for making bows, arrows and war clubs. The Osage wood used in making a bow needed to be seasoned for at least seven months; however, the bow’s full strength would not be reached for approximately four years. There were some people that thought the bow wouldn’t reach its full potential until it had aged ten years.

It was reported in 1810 that the Osage orange bow was so prized by the Plains Indians that the price of an Osage bow was a horse and a blanket.

The Osage orange is dioecious, meaning that male and female flowers are produced on separate trees. The female produces the fruit, which ripens in October and falls to the ground. Although female trees often produce fruit when no male trees exist nearby, this fruit does not contain seeds.

The Osage orange tree is decay resistant and immune to termites. The inedible fruit ball contains a milky sap that could cause dermatitis. Years ago, before retiring as a conservation officer, I received several calls from a lady requesting that I send her several of the fruit balls. I did. In turn, the lady sent the fruit to her son, who lived down south. Supposedly, the son used the fruit, which has a cedar-like aroma, as a deterrent to cockroaches. Some say that this only works when the fruit is green, while others say it does not work at all.

The University of Iowa has found that there are chemical compounds in the fruit that repel cockroaches, and not the fruit itself.

The tree is easily grown from a seed that sprouts the first year and grows rapidly to a height of approximately fifty feet. At one time, this tree, which has thorny twigs, was planted extensively as a living hedge. This hedge was to be erected horse-high, bull-strong and pig-tight (the Osage orange hedge met all requirements). After barbed wire came on the scene, Osage orange fences became obsolete. 

Bill Bower is a retired Pennsylvania Game Commission Wildlife Officer. Read his blog and listen to his podcasts on the outdoors at www.onemaningreen.com.