Botanical name

Maclura pomifera

Common name(s)

Osage orange

Family

Moraceae

Native range

Southern United States

Growth Height

35 to 60 feet

Bloom time

June

Historical and interesting facts

Before the invention of barbed wire in the 1880’s, people utilizes trees to designate property boundaries by planting them closely together in a line. Osage oranges were originally planted as living fences along the boundaries of farms in southern Oklahoma and northern Texas. “Horse high, bull strong, and hog tight” were the benchmarks for osage orange pruning and care. Osage oranges were to be tall enough so that a horse could not jump over it, wide enough so that a bull would not knock it down, and so tight together that a hog couldn’t find its way through. Once these living fences became obsolete, their trunks and wood were used as fence posts.

Over time, osage orange has proliferated through the southeast. Its name is a combination of the Osage tribe of Native Americans, who lived near the areas where it was first grown, and the sweet aroma osage fruit - the hedge apple - produces when left in the sun on a hot day. Hedge apples are edible, but most people find it difficult to remove the pulp and slimy husk. This does not pose a problem for the squirrels however; it is common to see one or two of these furry mammals within the branches or on the ground waiting for fruit to drop during its bloom time.

These fact sheets and the tree labels were assembled by UFI intern Amanda Williams, and funding for the project was provided through a UK Student Sustainability Council grant.