Fuzzy green orange-like fruit? My mom said she found these growing on a tree somewhere in...
My mom said she found these growing on a tree somewhere in North Carolina. I haven't seen them, but she say the skin and size are like an orange or grapefruit, singular they are green and have fuzz on them. She said someone told her that it was call and Oklahoma orange. Anybody ever heard of such a item?
Answers: That is an "Osage Orange" tree, and it`s growth is common here in Kentucky. Locally it is call a "Hedge-Apple". Some people believe it`s fruits have an insecticidal characteristic, repelling insects and vermine. It`s wood was prized by the "Osage" indians for bow and arrow making, hence it`s name... The following is copied and paste for your information.
The Osage orange (sometimes hyphenated) or Osage apple or simply Osage (Maclura pomifera) is an ornamental plant surrounded by the mulberry family Moraceae. It is also locally known as mock red, "wild orange", hedge-apple, horse-apple, hedge globe, bois d'arc, bodark (mainly in Oklahoma and Texas), bodart (in northwest Louisiana), bodock (mainly in Tennessee and Alabama), and bow wood. "Osage" derives from the Native American folks inhabiting the valley of the river of the same pet name in Missouri. Slang terms for its inedible fruit include monkey brain, monkey orb, monkey orange, and brain fruit, due to its brain-like appearance.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osage-orang...
I believe your Mom found an Osage Orange. I thought they grew more in the plains states but possibly someone planted some seeds in N. Carolina. Squirrel's love the seed and humans can eat them too but they're a lot of work to take out from the husk and then clean sour before you can eat them.