Osage-orange, Hedge-apple, Bodark (Maclura pomifera)

A medium-sized and spiny tree with short, often crooked trunk to 50' high. The leaves are 2 1/2-5" long and 1 1/2 - 3" wide. They are narrowly ovate, long-pointed, not toothed. The fruit shown here is 3 1/2-5" in diameter and is a heavy yellow-green ball, that is hard and fleshy. The fruit matures in the Fall and begins falling (don't find yourself under this tree when the fruit falls!). The native range of this tree is uncertain, but is believed to be SW Arkansas to E. Oklahoma and Texas and widely planted and naturalized in eastern and northwestern states. Rows of these spiny plants served as fences in the grassland plains before the introduction of barbed wire. The name "Bodark" is from the French bois d'are, meaning bow wood, referring to the Indian's use of the wood for archery bows. It is also used for fenceposts. Early settlers extracted a yellow dye for cloth from the root bark. The fruit is eaten by livestock which has given rise to yet another common name, "Horse-apple".