Osage-orange
Osage-orange
Maclura pomifera
Plantae
COMMON

Stats

Lifespan
75-150 yrs
Size
Large
Diet
Photosynthetic
Biome
Temperate grassland
Range
North America
Movement
Sessile
Breeding
Seeds
Defense
Spines
Status
Common

About

The Osage orange is a small deciduous tree or large shrub native to the south-central United States, growing 8-15 meters tall. Its distinctive multiple fruit resembles an immature orange, is roughly spherical, bumpy, 8-15 centimeters in diameter, and turns bright yellow-green in the fall.

Life cycle

  1. 1.
    seed
    A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
  2. 2.
    sprout
    A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
  3. 3.
    sapling
    A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
  4. 4.
    mature
    Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom
Plantae
Phylum
Tracheophyta
Class
Magnoliopsida
Order
Rosales
Family
Moraceae
Genus
Maclura
Species
Maclura pomifera