Osage orange, Bois d'Arc, Horse apple.

Description:

Moderate sized, deciduous tree, with a low rounded, ragged crown.

Habitat:

Spotted growing in a mixed hardwood forest in North Texas.

Notes:

Male and female plants. Softball sized, exotically wrinkled lime green fruit on females. Very hard, flexible wood once prized and widely traded for making into excellent bows. Bows have been found in archaeological sites dating as far back as 1050CE. More recently the were often planted as hedge rows and windbreaks. Orange bark makes a dye. Fruit repels certain insects.