Both fruitless and thornless, this tough Midwest native was found in western Oklahoma by plantsman Steve Bieberich. The most thornless of the Osage Orange cultivars, this heat and drought-tolerant tree has remarkably dark green, glossy foliage that turns a brilliant yellow in fall.
Osage orange provides shelter and cover for wildlife. Small mammals and birds use the thorny tree for cover. The bitter-tasting, fleshy fruit is generally not eaten, but some animals including squirrel, fox, and northern bobwhite occasionally eat the seeds. Osage orange is the only larval of two moths Ceratomia hagenii (Hagen’s Sphinx Moth) and Archips argyrospilus (Fruit-Tree Leafroller) feed on the leaves and flower buds.