Osage Orange-Monkey Balls-Horse Apple 6 Seeds - Tree

by Hirts: Trees & Shrubs

Product Features

• Maclura Pomifera Trees: Native to the midwestern and southeastern United States
• The fruit is neither an orange nor an apple, although it approaches the size of those fruits
• A yellow-orange dye is also extracted from the wood and is used as a substitute for fustic and aniline dyes in arts and industry
• Also makes an unusual bonsai.
• 6 Seeds

Product Details

• Shipping Information: View shipping rates and policies
• ASIN: B000WMQI5M
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,026 in Patio, Lawn & Garden (See Top 100 in Patio, Lawn & Garden)

Product Description

Maclura Pomifera Trees: Native to the midwestern and southeastern United States, this species is also known as the hedge apple because it was planted in thicket-like hedge rows before the advent of barbed wire fences. The fruit is neither an orange nor an apple, although it approaches the size of those fruits. Like the breadfruit and jackfruit, it is a true multiple fruit composed of numerous separate ovaries, each arising from a separate female flower. In fact, the bumpy surface of the fruit is due to the numerous, tightly-packed ovaries of the female flowers.

The wood of Maclura Pomifera was highly prized by the Osage Indians of Arkansas and Missouri for bows. In fact, Maclura Pomifera is stronger than oak (Quercus) and as tough as hickory (Carya), and is considered by archers to be one of the finest native North American woods for bows. In Arkansas, in the early 19th century, a good osage bow was worth a horse and a blanket. A yellow-orange dye is also extracted from the wood and is used as a substitute for fustic and aniline dyes in arts and industry. Also makes an unusual bonsai.