Tina Veduski, age 10, of Marion, Ohio, for her question:

HOW DID OSAGE ORANGE RECEIVE ITS NAME?

Osage orange is the name of a small  to medium sized tree that is planted across the United States for hedges, ornamental purposes and shade. It was originally found only in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas.

The tree's name refers to the Osage Indians of the region and to the greenish yellow fruit that looks like an orange but is inedible. Osage orange is also sometimes called bodark or bowwood.

The yellow wood of the Osage orange is hard, strong and durable. Indians at one time preferred it for their bows and war clubs. It was also used as a good material for fence posts and for wagon wheels.  

A yellow dye can be made by boiling chips of the Osage orange wood in water.

The Osage orange tree has a short trunk and crooked branches. Its long, pointed leaves are a shiny dark green. It has thorny twigs and a milky, bitter sap.

Pioneers planted Osage orange trees as a "living fence" around their farms before barbed wire came into use.