Osage Orange (Bois d’arc) – Plant

LATIN NAME
Maclura pomifera

LONGEVITY
Perennial

SEASON
Cool

ORIGIN
Native

DETAILS:

• Other common names, “Bois d’arc” and “Horse apple.”
• This is a medium-sized tree; the twigs and stems are equipped with short, stout spines.
• Flowers April to June, with the fruit maturing September to October.
• This tree has been widely planted in shelterbelts.
• The seeds inside the fruit, which look like a big yellowish-green apple, is eaten by squirrels.
• Turkeys have been known to pick and scratch open the fruit for the seed, as well.
• Deer browse the leaves and twigs.
• Yellow dye was formed from the root bark, and the bark of the trunk was used for tanning leather.
• The name, “Bois d’arc” was given by the French, meaning “Bow-wood,” with the reference to the fact that the Osage Indians made bows from the wood.

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