About the only thing that's out with an Osage orange, it seems, is eating it.
December means Osage oranges
December 03, 2009
Special to the Star
Osage oranges; Maclura pomifera
How fascinating these things are. They smell like orange peel, have wrinkly lime green skin and appear at florists and garden centres only at this time of year. That's because decorating divas like to use them in Christmas arrangements, impaled on skewers – and they do indeed look eye-catching.
Yet, in bygone days, Osage oranges served a far more hostile purpose.
Native to eastern Oklahoma, they are surprisingly heavy – so aboriginal Indians turned them into war clubs. The shrubby trees they grow on, which produce long, wicked thorns, were also pressed into action as a natural fence for early prairie settlers, keeping animals in and nasty neighbours out.
Even today, wood craftsmen still prize M. pomifera (a member of the mulberry family) to make furniture and archery bows. For the rest of us, they serve a practical purpose, too. They contain a tongue twisting chemical (2,3,4,5-tetrahydroxystilbene) that repels cockroaches, spiders, fleas and ants.
Folks in Oklahoma actually leave ripened fruit sitting on the floor wherever these critters are a problem. (I'm going to try this in my spidery bathroom.)
About the only thing that's out with an Osage orange, it seems, is eating it. The seeds apparently taste delicious, but you have to wade through a lot of slimy flesh first – and this stuff has been known to choke cattle. So stick to the mixed nuts at party time.
Note: Bay trees, featured last week, are sold at Richters Herbs in Uxbridge www.Richters.com.
www.soniaday.com.