Remnant Osage Orange trees which were once plentiful across the eastern U.S. continue to grow on the Ozark Highlands as well as in a few other southern states. The unusual trees produce a highly valued decay-resistant wood, as well as large strange-looking green fruit – that only extinct megafauna relished. Noted author, Steven Foster, meets us under an elder Osage Orange on Mt. Sequoyah Center to share stories about the remarkable and little-understood tree.
Osage Orange Tree Yields Mysterious Prehistoric Fruit
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Holding some fruit, author Steven Foster, stands beneath an elder Osage Orange tree holding some fruit on Mt. Sequoyah in Fayetteville.
J. Froelich / Ozarks at Large
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This male Osage Orange, likely over a century old, is tended by Rick Wimpee, a volunteer, for Mt. Sequoyah Center.
Courtesy / Rick Wimpee
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Osage Orange tree trunk bark indicates dense orange- colored wood inside.
J. Froelich / Ozarks at Large
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Ornate Osage Orange tree bark resembles basket weaving.
Courtesy / Steven Foster
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Osage Orange tree fruit was once favored by mega-fauna. Today nothing consumes it, except squirrels who eat, and disburse, the seeds.
J. Froelich / Ozarks at Large
