Osage

From Encyclopediak

Osage Orange, or Osage, an ornamental American shrub of the Nettle Family, found native in the region of the Osage River, from which it derives its name. It is a small, bushy tree, which spreads quickly by means of running roots. The branches are tough and short and grow so thickly that they make an almost impenetrable hedge. The leaves are oval and shining. The flowers are of two kinds fertile, or those which will bear fruit and sterile, or those which will not. Those of the first kind grow in long clusters, and the second in a close head. The divisions of the flowers are in four unequal parts. The fruit is a fleshy ball, orange-yellow when ripe and much like the orange in appearance, but with a rougher surface. The pulp is dry and bitter to the taste. The heartwood of the osage is red and is used in the production of a dye the outer wood is yellow and tough and was a favorite with many Native Americans for making bows, for this reason it was called by them bois darc.