Page authors: Don Knoke, David Giblin
Maclura pomifera
Osage-orange
Specimens
Photos

Distribution: Occurring east of the Cascades crest in southeastern Washington; south-central Washington to California, east to west-central Idaho, native from the south-central U.S. to the mid-Atlantic states.

Habitat: Open, disturbed areas, often along riparian corridors or abandoned fields.

Flowers: May-June

Origin: Introduced from elsewhere in United States

Growth Duration: Perennial

Conservation Status: Not of concern

Pollination: Wind

Description:
General:

Deciduous, dioecious, brownish-barked trees 5-20 m. tall, the branches armed with stout spines 1-2 cm. long, the juice milky.

Leaves:

Leaves alternate, entire, long-petiolate, the blades ovate-lanceolate, 5-12 cm. long.

Flowers:

Staminate flowers in axillary, subglobose, pedunculate racemes, the pedicles slender; perianth 4-lobed nearly to the base; stamens 4, opposite the lobes; pistillate inflorescence a dense, globose, subsessile, axillary head; perianth 4-lobed, covering the ovary; style 1, filiform.

Fruits:

Mature fruits in a large, rough, globose cluster 7-12 cm. in diameter, the achenes concealed in the fleshy receptacle.

Accepted Name:
Maclura pomifera C.K. Schneid.
Publication: Ill. Handb. Laubholzk. 1: 806. 1906.

Synonyms & Misapplications:
Ioxylon aurantiacum (Nutt.) Raf.
Ioxylon pomiferum Raf., orthographic variant
Maclura aurantiaca Nutt.
Additional Resources:

PNW Herbaria: Specimen records of Maclura pomifera in the Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria database

WA Flora Checklist: Maclura pomifera checklist entry

OregonFlora: Maclura pomifera information

E-Flora BC: Maclura pomifera atlas page

CalPhotos: Maclura pomifera photos

6 photographs:
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