MORACEAE - - Mulberry Family

Maclura pomifera (Rafinesque) C.K. Schneider — Osage-orange, Bow-wood, Bois-d'arc, Hedge-apple

Osage-orange, Bow-wood, Bois-d'arc, Hedge-apple (Maclura pomifera) - Shrub, or tree becoming 20 m. tall; leaf-blades ovate, ovate-lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, 4—30 cm. long, acuminate, dark-green and lustrous above; calyx-lobes ovate; stamens long-exserted; fruit globose, 5—15 cm. in diameter, golden-yellow. Readily forming thickets which the dense growth and thorns make almost impenetrable. The strong flexible orange-colored or brown wood was formerly used by some Indian tribes for making bows. It is now used for objects where strength and durability are needed. The bark of the roots yield a yellow dye.

Habitat:

Fields, hedgerows, forests, naturalized from extensive planting in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, native of TX, OK, AR, and LA. The large fruits are unmistakable: yellowish-green, grapefruit-sized, and wrinkled, reminiscent of a giant, spherical mulberry fruit. The wood is extremely heavy, fine-grained, a bright yellow-orange when fresh, but darkening with age, famous for making bows and also used in cabinetry.

Habitat information from:
Weakley, Alan S., Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States, Working Draft of 21 May 2015.

The range of Maclura pomifera (Tulip-tree)

Kartesz, J.T., The Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2015. North American Plant Atlas. (http://bonap.net/napa). Chapel Hill, N.C. [maps generated from Kartesz, J.T. 2015. Floristic Synthesis of North America, Version 1.0. Biota of North America Program (BONAP). (in press)].

The Georgia range of Maclura pomifera (Tulip-tree)

Zomlefer, W.B., J.R. Carter, & D.E. Giannasi. 2014 (and ongoing). The Atlas of Georgia Plants. University of Georgia Herbarium (Athens, Georgia) and Valdosta State University Herbarium (Valdosta, Georgia). Available at: http://www.georgiaherbaria.org/.