Is this a fruit? What is it?

[simon_grow]

My family hiking around the canyons today we found this thing on the ground. It looks sort of pebbly, kinda like a small Jackfruit. It is the size of an apple and is relatively light in weight. There were several of these things laying on the ground and some of them were about the size of a large cherimoya.

I looked up to see if any of the nearby trees had this fruit like thing but couldn’t find any trees holding this fruit. I also found a fruit that was cracked open. Anybody know what this is?

It smells somewhat fruity with a bit of that sandalwood smell. Thanks in advance!





Simon

[Eggo]

Kind of look like a fruit of one of the species of screw pine, maybe Pandanus utilis.

[gardenhoe]

that's an osage orange

[W.]

Yes, Osage orange. I know it well. It is a fruit native to the United States. It is technically not considered native to California because it was not found there when Europeans first explored the continent, but there is conjecture as to how large a range it had when it was eaten (and its seeds dispersed) by now-long extinct giant ground sloths. The one you found certainly got there because a person planted it or one nearby.

Both the Osage orange and jackfruit are members of the Moraceae (mulberry) family, so that is good recognition on your part.

It is not edible. It is not poisonous and will not kill a person who eats it, but that does not mean it is edible. There are videos online of people eating it and not all of them hate it. I think that says more about their taste buds than the fruit's eating qualities. After all, Native Americans did not utilize Osage orange as a food source, which says something considering some of the other things they found ways to use. Last month, the All the Fruit YouTube channel released a video about the Osage orange (https://youtu.be/21ye7d9inz4), and we talked about that very topic.

[pineislander]

The natural weeping shape of branches make the wood amenable to bow-making the wood is very hard and rot resistant, makes good fence posts. Very hard wood is hell on a chainsaw. Cows love to eat them and the sight is very comical. Those are my recollections from early life in Texas.

[simon_grow]

Wow, thanks for the identification and the great information! I took a fruit home s as bud I really enjoy the smell of it. It’s actually the closest thing I’ve found that resembles the smell of Yangmei.

Simon

[Galatians522]

It is also used as a rootstock for Che to keep the trees from suckering. There is even a hybrid between the two that is presumably sterile. I have also heard that the seeds of the Osage are edible, its just too much work to pick them out.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.cirrusimage.com/tree_osage_silk_thorn/&ved=2ahUKEwji8O6XjND0AhXwTDABHW01Al8QFnoECB8QAQ&usg=AOvVaw1Vu0BHvLM8MXGRKS8uL7WS

[gardenhoe]

my mother used to keep the fruit in the basement, it keeps away bugs and rodents

[Walt]

A friend made a guitar neck out of this wood.  It started out bright yellow but it darkened to golden brown in 6 months.  When quarter sawn.  I.e, cut length wise so the cut is at right angle to the growth rings, the wood sparkles.  I think it has silica crystels in it.