What Is It Good For? The Osage Orange

Humor, Plants
[caption id="attachment_18317" align="alignright" width="440"] Osage oranges[/caption] You've heard of the Osage Indians, but have you heard of the Osage orange? Latin name Maclura pomifera, the "orange" is a grapefruit-sized, pale green, bumpy, ordinarily uneaten fruit with a woody, pulpy consistency that smells a good deal like its citrus namesake. If these fruits are seldom eaten, are they useful for something else? If so, what about the tree? Finally, if the tree is generally undesirable, what of its wood? Is Osage Orange Fruit Worthless? Most foraging animals pass by an Osage orange, with exceptions being the squirrel and the deer, which eat its tiny seeds. Is there something useful in its chemistry? The fruit does contain two isoflavones, namely osajin and pomiferin. Of the two, only pomiferin is classified a strong…
Read More