Maclura pomifera

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Maclura pomifera, commonly known as the Osage orange ( OH-sayj), is a small deciduous tree or large shrub, native to the south-central United States. It is a member of the mulberry family, Moraceae. It typically grows about 8 to 15 m (30–50 ft) tall. The distinctive multiple fruit resembles an immature orange, is roughly spherical, bumpy, 8 to 15 cm (3–6 in) in diameter, and turns bright yellow-green in the fall. The fruit excretes a sticky white latex when cut or damaged. Despite the name "Osage orange", it is not related to the orange. Due to its latex secretions and woody pulp, the fruit is not usually eaten by humans and rarely by foraging animals. Ecologists Daniel H. Janzen and Paul S. Martin proposed in 1982 that the fruit of this species might be an example of what has come to be called an evolutionary anachronism—that is, a fruit coevolved with a large animal seed dispersal partner that is now extinct. This hypothesis is controversial. Maclura pomifera has many common names, including...

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