It is easily identified by its shiny leaves, thorny twigs, bright orange inner bark. The unusual, wrinkled, orange fruit, 4 to 5 inches in diameter, has a typical citrus odor, but the inside is dry and pulpy, witha milky juice. It grows from a ball of small green flowers.
Osage-Orange, like Catalpa, is planted widely outside its original range. It was used as one of the first "living fences" to bound prairie farms. Indians prized the tough wood for bows and warclubs; we use it to a limited extent for posts and ties. Osage-Orange is a relative of the Mulberries.
