Fallen fruit of the single Osage orange tree in Yakima Arboretum. (c) Lorene Edwards Forkner
When October arrives, some people get out their heavy sweaters and rake leaves. Others switch over to pumpkin spice lattes, play a round of touch football, or jump in said piles of leaves. Us? We drive roughly 300 miles to Yakima, just east of the Cascade Range, to gather Osage oranges.
I inadvertently “discovered” a lone Maclura pomifera at the Yakima Arboretum back in 2005. I was on a bus tour visiting local gardens including the remarkable home and landscape created by artist Leo Adams. Somewhat dazed after immersing ourselves in Leo World, our bus briefly stopped by the arboretum for some arboreal head clearing before we headed back over the mountains to the “wet” side. That’s when I came across dozens of chartreuse softball-sized orbs scattered on the ground beneath a large tree with furrowed bark. I had only read about the curious fruit, but their brilliant color and fragrance was a giveaway as to what they were. What can I say – I felt like I’d found (green) gold.
Furrows of warm cinnamon bark on Maclura pomifera. (c)Lorene Edwards Forkner
The curious nature of Osage oranges. (c)Lorene Edwards Forkner
Is it an orange or an apple?
Osage orange, a member of the mulberry family, is native to what is now the south-central United States and today the tree is distributed in all 48 contiguous states and southeastern Canada. The tree is prized for its exceedingly hard and flexible wood. According to Wikipedia, the common name is a reference to Osage Native peoples who would travel long distances to gather the wood for making their bows. Later, American settlers planted rows of Osage oranges, which they coppiced to encourage dense growth, to fortify their fields from browsing livestock and other animals. In addition to planting the trees to create windbreaks throughout the plains, contemporary craftspeople use the dense, weather-resistant lumber for fence posts, tool handles, and anything that requires dimensionally stable wood.
Pithy individual drupes surrounding the seeds — if there is any, make up the inside of an Osage orange, (c)Lorene Edwards Forkner
The distinctive fruits—also called hedge apples, horse apples, and Bois d’arc (“bow-wood”) — are neither apples or oranges, although they do have a musky citrus fragrance that I’ve come to associate with autumn’s damp earth and fallen leaves. If broken or cut, the skin of the bumpy chartreuse orb oozes a sticky white latex. The interior is made up of pithy fiber surrounding edible seeds. The trees are dioecious, that is the flowers are either male or female; only female trees will fruit, although without a male pollinator, the fruit will not produce seed. I’ve never seen seed but don’t tell the squirrels who avidly forage the fruits.
Curious fruits
Over the past 19 years, even I can’t believe it’s been that long, Osage oranges have become a treasured seasonal marker, right up there with flowering cherries and Christmas trees. Some years we simply fill our bags with the fragrant fruit, get in the car and head back home. This year we stayed the night and turned our annual pilgrimage into a weekend of gathering fall flavors from roadside fruit stands — Yakima is Peak Apple country. Also: tamales, saltwater taffy, epic cinnamon rolls, beef jerky, and a couple of exquisite pumpkins that look like vintage ceramics.
Once home I pile bowls of the curious fruit and place them around the house. It’s also a pleasure to share my stash with others who count on me for their Osage Connection. I’ve read where Osage oranges are said to dispel spiders and insects, but I’d like to think my home is relatively free of such populations even before I bring the fruits into the house. The kitchen, on the other hand, where I’m ripening the last of the green tomatoes on a platter in the windowsill, is another story. Fruit flies, goo and all manner of wildlife are gaining the upper hand. Clearly it’s time to let summer go.
Gosh, I had almost forgotten about these little jewels that I gather every fall from a tree a couple of country miles from our home. Like you, I love that they provide such beautiful free fall decoration. I always put a few in the basement just in case spiders dare to enter.
Honestly, I should stash a couple in our large walk-in shower where a truly impressive spider showed up at a very inconvenient moment a few days ago!
Love this and can so relate. I live near Rochester, NY, and there are three spots where I can go and gather Osage oranges. I even mark it on my calendar every year so I don’t forget to go while the oranges are fresh.
One year I filled a 3 gallon pot half way with compost, put 3 oranges on top and covered all with leaves. Left the pot outside in a protected spot and come spring, I had numerous Osage orange seedlings. I now have 5 trees big enough to plant. Finding a spot will be another part of this adventure!
Cool! Hope you have a giant property!
Me again, I just had an idea. You could spread your Osage oranges around the neighborhood so everyone can experience them!
Time was when wooly mammoths and mastodons did the spreading for you, passing the undigested seeds unharmed by their digestive tracts and primed for sprouting. As feral kids we prized the large smooth Osage orange thorns as homemade blowgun darts and, miraculously, never put anyone’s eye out.
I was reading about “evolutionary anachronism” as to your childhood shenanigans— there’s no end to dangerous things tied to kids’ curiosity
Bois d’Arc seed taste like sunflower seed with a nutty aftertaste. Use a concrete mixer to break the apples up and water to separate the pulp and seeds.
That sounds like you dealt with a lot of Osage oranges.
You mention the seeds are edible. Is the fruit itself edible? Definitely a beauty!
I read that while the fruit is edible it’s not tasty. Mushy and bland with a dose of sappy latex — yum! But the smell is crazy good!
I had a Thoroughbred mare in MO who would pull your arms off getting to the hedge apples. She loved to eat them. Only horse I ever had that did eat them!
A horse after my own heart.
Here in the Columbia River Gorge, you can collect Osage oranges at the Balfour -Klickitat Day Use trail, at the beautiful confluence of the Columbia and Klickitat rivers. The short trail winds through an old abandoned homestead (whence the Osage orange trees), and is full of floral and faunal surprises, plus outstanding views. The trees are magnificent.
Fragrance, beauty and wonder right beside us. Thanks Ann. Oregon peeps what are you waiting for?
I love Osage oranges. We have several growing wild on the farm, but scarcely any fruit this year. Drought? At nearby Fort Harrod there is a massive male specimen (no fruit) that kids love to climb.
just another quizzical twist in nature this year. In additional gathering Osage oranges, I try to get to Portland OR to witness the returns of the Vaux swifts — this year we cancelled out trip at the last minute because there were hardly any swifts — normally there are thoughsands. Hope your Osage oranges return to fruiting (and nobody gets hurt climbing the tree)