The Osage orange

By Christine Tailer
HCP columnist 

It is that Osage orange time of year. Many, many years ago I remember that there was an Osage orange tree in the backyard of the children’s nursery school. Generations of children had climbed its scraggly limbs until the bark wore smooth. 

I remember how our young'uns would delight when the odd green fruit dropped to the ground every fall. Back in those days, I was busy with motherly and lawyerly things, and never took much notice in their wonder, but perhaps now, in my older years, I have become more child-like. Yes, I really do find great delight in this Osage orange time of year.

We have several Osage trees that grow along upper side of our second field behind Greg’s shop. The neon green fruits are larger than my two fists held together, and every fall the large the ripe fruits crash to the ground with a shockingly loud thud. When one happens to hit the metal roof of the shop, the thunderous boom is so startling, I actually jump. I’ve never gotten used to it, and I startle every time I hear it, even though I know exactly what it is.

Then, as the fruit lie on the ground, I find myself drawn to them. I go out of my way to stop by where they lie. I bend down and pick up one of the orbs. I turn it over in my hands. I marvel at its wavy, grooved surface. 

I hold it up to my nose and inhale its pleasant citrus scent, and then I gather up as many as I can carry, and bring them up the hill to the cabin. If I am careful, I can open the door without dropping any, and once inside, I place them on my ground floor work bench. Their soft citrus sent fills the air.

I have learned that in the early 1800s, when the explorers Lewis and Clark mapped their way west across the North American Continent, that they met up with the Osage Nation, on the Great Plains, a people who “so esteemed the tree” that they would travel hundreds of miles to find it, and hence the tree’s name. 

The Osage Nation once inhabited the Ohio River Valley, well over two thousand years before our time here. They prized the hardness of the tree's orange wood and made their spears and arrows out of it. We can attest that it is far harder than oak or hickory. It quickly dulls our chainsaw blades.

I learned that Osage orange trees can grow to be 50 feet tall, though the ones in our creek valley typically grow no more than 30 to 40 feet in height. Those that grow behind Greg’s shop are perhaps thirty feet tall. I have learned that the sweet-smelling fruits are not edible, and can grow up to six inches in diameter, as do ours. I’ve also learned, however, that some folk, have an allergic reaction just from touching them and break out in a rash. Thankfully, I do not seem to be allergic.

I have further learned that the Osage fruit’s citrus scent is believed to repel insects, and they have accordingly been gathered and brought inside homes with this purpose in mind. Modern chemistry has not been able to prove this, even though there are insect-repelling compounds found in the fruits. These compounds, however, are supposedly not present in sufficient quantities to be effective.

And so, it has occurred to me to bring oodles (clearly not a particularly scientific number) of the fruit inside our home with hopes of repelling those pesky stink bugs and Asian lady beetles that relentlessly try to gain entrance this time of year. I figure that effective or not, the Osage orange scent really is lovely, and so, nothing ventured, nothing gained, every fall I set off to gather up as many Osage orange fruit as I can.

I cannot even begin to count the number of Osage oranges that I have distributed about the cabin. Three or four line every window sill. They perch on our book shelves, dressers, and end tables. They sit in a large bowl on the dining room table, and yes, our house does smell wonderful.

As to their insect repelling ability, however, I honestly have no news to report. The stink bugs still seem to sneak their way inside, though I do not know how. The onslaught of Asian lady beetles has yet to begin, but I know that it will. Still, the presence of these pests is not quite as loathsome with the sweet citrus scent of the Osage orange gracing our home, and their neon green scattered about the cabin is joyful to behold.

I therefore heartily recommend interior decorating with this large, odd-looking fruit. Their sweet citrus scent is better than any commercial spray, and their neon green will certainly make a decor statement. I smile. The Osage oranges grace the inside of our home while the new fall season spreads throughout our creek valley world, and the Osage oranges crash to the ground.

Christine Tailer is an attorney and former city dweller who moved several years ago, with her husband, Greg, to an off-grid farm in Ohio south-central Ohio. Visit them on the web at straightcreekvalleyfarm.com. 

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