Osage orange fruit

Aren't these cool? These bumpy, colorful fruits are from the osage orange tree (Maclura pomifera), are a member of the mulberry family and are also known as a hedge apple or horse apple. The fruits range in size from a tennis ball to as big as a grapefruit, and I collect a dozen or so every fall from a "secret source" here on the North Shore. The wood from this tree—stronger than oak or hickory—was highly prized Native Americans who used it for making bows, which they could trade for horses or blankets. I just like the way they look in a big bowl.