Osage orange

Osage orange
1. Also called bois d'arc, bowwood. a tree, Maclura pomifera, of the mulberry family, native to the south-central U.S., having hard, yellowish wood and often cultivated for hedges.
2. the round, rough-skinned, inedible fruit of this tree.
[1810-20]

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also called  Bowwood,  French  Bois D'arc 
 (Maclura pomifera), thorny tree with large, yellow-green, wrinkled fruit and a milky sap that can produce dermatitis in humans. It is the only species of its genus in the mulberry family (Moraceae). It is native to the south-central United States but has been planted extensively farther north in the Mississippi River valley and at points east of there.

      The Osage orange is often trained as a hedge; when planted in rows along a boundary, it forms an effective spiny barrier. The tree also serves as a windbreak. Its hard yellow-orange wood, formerly used for bows and war clubs by the Osage and other Indian tribes, is now used for railway ties and fence posts. The wood yields a yellow dye. Attempts have been made to prepare an edible meal or flour from the fruit of the tree, which was long considered to be poisonous. The fruit often grows to more than 13 cm (5 inches) in diameter.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Osage orange — O sage or ange (Bot.) An ornamental tree of the genus {Maclura} ({Maclura aurantiaca}), closely allied to the mulberry ({Morus}); also, its fruit. The tree was first found in the country of the Osage Indians, and bears a hard and inedible fruit… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Osage orange — ☆ Osage orange [ō′sāj΄ ] n. 1. a small thorny tree (Maclura pomifera) of the mulberry family, with hard, yellow wood, native to the central U.S. and often used for hedges 2. its greenish yellow, orange shaped, inedible fruit …   English World dictionary

  • Osage-orange — Taxobox image width = 250px image caption = Osage orange foliage and fruit regnum = Plantae divisio = Magnoliophyta classis = Magnoliopsida ordo = Rosales familia = Moraceae genus = Maclura species = M. pomifera binomial = Maclura pomifera… …   Wikipedia

  • osage orange — obuolinė makliūra statusas T sritis vardynas apibrėžtis Šilkmedinių šeimos dažinis, dekoratyvinis augalas (Maclura pomifera), paplitęs Šiaurės Amerikoje. atitikmenys: lot. Maclura pomifera angl. bowwood; hedge apple; osage orange; osage orange… …   Lithuanian dictionary (lietuvių žodynas)

  • osage-orange — obuolinė makliūra statusas T sritis vardynas apibrėžtis Šilkmedinių šeimos dažinis, dekoratyvinis augalas (Maclura pomifera), paplitęs Šiaurės Amerikoje. atitikmenys: lot. Maclura pomifera angl. bowwood; hedge apple; osage orange; osage orange… …   Lithuanian dictionary (lietuvių žodynas)

  • osage orange — makliūra statusas T sritis vardynas apibrėžtis Šilkmedinių (Moraceae) šeimos augalų gentis (Maclura). atitikmenys: lot. Maclura angl. osage orange vok. Gelbholz; Maclura; Osagedorn; Osageorange rus. маклюра lenk. żółtnica …   Dekoratyvinių augalų vardynas

  • Osage orange — noun a small spiny North American tree with inedible green orange like fruit and durable wood (used by the Osage for their bows). [Maclura pomifera.] …   English new terms dictionary

  • osage orange — n. 1 a hardy thorny tree, Maclura pomifera, of the US, bearing inedible wrinkled orange like fruit. 2 the durable orange coloured timber from this. Etymology: name of a N. American Indian tribe …   Useful english dictionary

  • Osage orange — noun Date: 1817 an ornamental usually thorny United States tree (Maclura pomifera) of the mulberry family with shiny ovate leaves and hard bright orange wood; also its yellowish green globose fruit …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Osage orange — /oʊseɪdʒ ˈɒrɪndʒ/ (say ohsayj orinj) noun 1. an ornamental tree, Maclura pomifera, native to the southern central US, used for hedges. 2. its fruit, which resembles a warty orange …  

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