Osage-orange, Hedge-apple, "Bois d'arc"
 

Mature Size, Growth, Longevity

Grows to 20-40' tall and wide, occasionally to 60'. Usually as wide or wider than its height. Fast growing, 9-12' over a 3-5 year period.

Native Range

Species originally native to Arkansas to Oklahoma and Texas, but has grown far out if its native range.

Flower and Fruit Details

Dioecious flowers, inconspicuous, in June. Female flowers in dense globose heads. Male flowers in subglobose or sometimes elongated racemes. Fruits are syncarps of drupes 4-6" in diameter, covered with a mamillate rind, yellow-green in color, becoming effective in September, usually falling after ripening. Fruits are messy, so select male cultivars.

Leaf and Bark Features

Fall color varies from yellow-green to a good yellow. Buff or orange-brown bark, glabrous, armed with straight, stout, axillary spines, 0.5" long.

Culture and Care

Transplants readily. Withstands wetness, dryness, wind, full sun, and extreme heat. Once established, it can even tolerate acid and high pH conditions. No serious diseases, although leaf spots have been reported.

Strengths, Weaknesses, Other Facts

Wood is amazingly rot resistant.

Suggested Uses

Not worth recommending for the residential landscape, but has the potential for rugged, polluted areas.

Taxa and Plants of this Species at BCA