Wondering what is the bumpy green fruit growing out of your hedge?
It may be a hedge apple. A fruit that is seen more on house fences than on local markets.
Ask the vendors or gardeners if you can eat hedge apples, and you will get varied answers.
Let us discuss hedge apples, and Is the Hedge Apple, also known as “Osage Orange,” edible?
Table of Contents
What are hedge apples?
As with its name, the plant is commonly used as a hedge.
Due to its high survivability rate and poor soil and weather conditions, the plants require low maintenance, making them good natural fences.
Aside from being a durable plant, its wood is sturdy and has a nice exterior opposite to the fruit, according to the Iowa State University’s Department of Horticulture publication “Facts and Myths Associated with Hedge Apples.”
Hedge apple plant was told to be the “best fencing material available,” according to Illinois College Biology instructor Professor Jonathan and Prairie Farmer editor John Wright back in the 80s.
While also called an Osage orange, hedge apples only have a distant relationship to the orange fruit family but are actually a member of the mulberry family, Moraceae.
It is a small green fruit that has a ridge-like exterior similar to rolled-up crumpled paper.
The hedge apple or Maclura pomifera is a conversation starter online due to its alleged insect-repelling capability.
are hedge apples edible?
The straighter answer is, hedge apples, also known as Osage oranges, are inedible.
The hedge apple is inedible not because of its ugly taste and appearance but because of the latex, the fruit secrets that can irritate the human skin.
Anything that can harm the outside of the human body can hurt the inside too.
The seeds can be eaten but require at least 24 hours of soaking to make them soft.
It is hard to get out some of the seeds inside the pulp when unsoaked.
Are hedge apples poisonous?
Hedge apples are mostly used as ornamental fruits.
However, the question of it being edible persists among people, even online.
Is Osage orange poisonous? Maybe, if You are not only Stick to the Seeds.
Its pulp has a rough texture and secretes a latex liquid that can harm the skin.
You will be left with the seeds that take a lot of steps before they can be eaten.
Hard exterior
The bumpy skin of the hedge apple is similar to a dehydrated fruit: it has lumps all over and is generally unappealing to most humans.
This ugly appearance and a semi-rigid exterior is the reason why most humans do not bother eating it.
After all, who has the time to peel a hard skin and only to find out its taste is as undesirable as its exterior.
Latex secretion
A white and sticky fluid will come out from its pulp when you open a hedge apple in half. This is called the latex, which is comparable to the latex released by rubber trees.
There are no descriptions online about its taste.
However, it is believed that this secretion is said to be the reason why pests are repelled.
There is no scientific proof on this yet. Only a 2009 study by Robert Frazee, a retired University of Illinois instructor for the Department of Natural Resources, concluded two things:
- Hedge apples only work as in insect repellant in a closed space and not in an open one
- In the test, it worked against German cockroaches, mosquitoes, and houseflies in a closed space using large and concentrated amounts of the secretion
The latex secretion, too, is not just sticky like industrial glue. It is also a skin irritant.
Woody pulp
When fruit is said to have a woody pulp, it means that it is not as tender as mango or orange when you bite into it.
The overall texture is unyielding, which is also why this fruit is considered inedible by some.
To be considered palatable, a fruit must taste good and also has a nice texture when eaten.
Undesirable taste
The fruit tastes bad. One YouTuber called “Weird Explorer” uploaded a video of him eating the hedge apple’s seed but not the pulp.
He soaked the fruit for 24 hours, took out the seeds, and fried them.
He described it as something in between a sunflower seed and popcorn.
How to eat hedge apple seeds?
Here is the traditional way of eating the seeds of hedge apples:
- Slice the fruit into two.
- Scoop out all the seeds and put into a container.
- Run it through water to remove the slimy coating.
- Tap them dry using a piece of cloth or tissue paper.
- You can eat the seeds raw or fry them. For the latter, just put them into hot oil and fry for 5-10 minutes until golden brown.
- Dry the seeds again to get rid of the oil and season with salt if you want.
Conclusion
The role of the hedge apple in the planet is more of as fencing and a barrier rather than a food item.
Its ability to tolerate unhealthy soil, extreme heat, and strong winds make it a good windbreaker and a hedge around the house.
However, since you will be leaving the fruit alone, it will just fall.
The worst-case scenario is you will have many rotting hedge apples on your lawn which will emit a bad smell.
You can always use the wood and not the whole plant itself if you prefer it as a hedge.
For the seeds, yes, they can be eaten without health risks.
But, you still have to slice through the cardboard-tough exterior, soak it for 24 hours, wash with water to remove the skin-irritating liquid, and fry it.
This process alone will take up a lot of time in exchange for just half a bowl of seeds.
References
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maclura_pomifera
- https://communityenvironment.unl.edu/hedge-apple
- https://hortnews.extension.iastate.edu/2014/10-24/hedgeapple.html
- http://blogs.pjstar.com/gardening/2014/11/10/hedge-apples/
Lindsey Hyland grew up in Arizona where she studied at the University of Arizona’s Controlled Environment Agriculture Center. She continued her gardening education by working on organic farms in both rural and urban settings. She started UrbanOrganicYield.com to share gardening tips and tactics. She’s happy to talk about succulents and houseplants or vegetables and herbs – or just about anything in a backyard garden or hydroponics garden.
