Osage Orange (Maclura pomifera) derived its common name from the Osage Indians in Oklahoma and Texas and the orange-smelling fruits. The Latin name comes from William Maclura, an American geologist ...

Osage orange wood was most commonly used in that era for regular fence posts and building materials and continued as the material of choice for fencing until barbed wire came along about 1880.

“Monkey brains!” the kids exclaimed as we reached the old dirt road. I was leading an outdoor school program, and it took me a moment to realize the students were referring to the big, lumpy fruit ...

I feel like a wimp. Here in the Missouri Ozarks, 20 degrees is cold enough to keep me inside, except for those outside chores that need to be done. I have managed to get in a little sawmilling on the ...

Over the years I’ve heard many gardeners, local farmers and landscapers say that the Osage orange (Maclura pomifera) is a useless, thorny, gangly tree. I agree that the tree is thorny, somewhat gangly ...

While traveling through the Midwest on leaf peeping adventures, modern day explorers may find a rather nondescript tree with unique, distinct fruit. A medium-sized tree adorned with large, round, ...

Osage oranges? Bah, humbug! They’re totally useless. Even a salesperson with the advertising acumen of a PT Barnum would be hard-pressed to promote them. They’re a harbinger of fall, as sure a sign of ...

Osage oranges look like a cross between a neon green brain and a baseball. The fruit is hardy enough to survive fall frosts when they’re grown in container gardens and used in floral arrangements.

The Chattanooga Department of Public Works is conducting a wood lottery today at 10 a.m. The featured wood comes from the Osage orange tree that stood near the Hamilton County Courthouse. The old, ...

Of all our presidents, Thomas Jefferson clearly had the greenest thumb. The great statesman was a gardener extraordinaire. Monticello, Jefferson’s beautiful Virginia estate, was a horticultural ...