The hedge apple (Maclura pomifera), also known as Osage orange, is a distinctive fruit with a puzzling reputation. It is a large, green, bumpy sphere, typically 3 to 6 inches in diameter, turning bright yellow-green as it matures in the fall. Despite its name, it is not related to true oranges, but belongs to the mulberry family. Many perceive this fruit as inedible, believing no animal consumes it, leading to a common botanical mystery.
Animals That Consume Hedge Apples
While many believe hedge apples are untouched by wildlife, several animals do consume them.
Squirrels, especially fox squirrels, shred the fruit to access the seeds within. A single hedge apple can contain 200 to 300 seeds. Squirrels gnaw through the tough outer layer and sticky sap to reach these edible seeds.
Deer also consume hedge apples, particularly when other food sources are scarce. They often stomp on the fruit to break it open before eating the pulp and seeds. Deer may also browse on the Osage orange tree’s leaves. The fruit appears to be a less preferred food source, sometimes consumed after softening on the ground following a freeze.
Livestock like horses and cattle are known to consume hedge apples. Horses find them palatable and will eat both the fruit and leaves. Hedge apples are not poisonous to horses, though large pieces could pose a choking hazard. Cattle also eat hedge apples but face a higher choking risk due to the fruit’s size. Choking instances have been reported, especially when the fruit is smaller or cattle are eager.
The Unraveling of a Botanical Mystery
The common perception that few animals eat hedge apples stems from its evolutionary history. Scientists propose the hedge apple’s characteristics, like its large size, tough rind, and sticky pulp, are adaptations for dispersal by now-extinct megafauna. During the Pleistocene epoch, 10,000 to 13,000 years ago, animals such as mammoths, mastodons, giant ground sloths, and ancient horses roamed North America. These massive herbivores were likely the primary consumers and dispersers of the fruit’s seeds. The fruit’s robust nature allowed seeds to pass through their digestive systems, facilitating dispersal across vast landscapes.
With the extinction of these megafauna, the hedge apple lost its primary seed dispersal agents. This explains why today’s native animals, generally smaller, struggle to consume or effectively disperse the entire fruit. The limited natural dispersal by modern animals means many hedge apples simply fall and decompose beneath the parent tree. This ecological mismatch contributes to the mystery surrounding the fruit and its seemingly low consumption by present-day wildlife.