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Hedge Apples

Several bright-green Osage orange fruits in a wire basket

These odd-looking fruits come from the Osage orange tree (Maclura pomifera), which is native to southwest Missouri. Midwestern settlers planted these trees to create living "horse-high, bull-strong and hog-tight" hedges on their farms. Hedge apples ripen and fall in late October and early November.

By: Bonnie Chasteen

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