Osage Oranges

Osage oranges are one of fall's fun treats. The unexpected shockingly chartreuse green orbs are covered with nobs and wrinkles. These lovely fall fruits have a distinctive citrus smell and are reputed to ward off nasty insects such as cockroaches, fleas, and crickets. Researchers are currently testing the sap for use as a natural mosquito repellent. Shirking any practical function, I just love to have a bowl or vase full of them sitting out in the house. The color is so vivid and the smell so lovely! Osage orange trees are easy to spot once the leaves begin to fall as they dangle like Christmas ornaments from the trees. Though they occur naturally in Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, they have been widely naturalized all over the United States I know they grow wild in Virginia, so when we go on a fall hike we bring plenty of bags to use for collecting. If you are so lucky as to find these beauties, you'll get to enjoy them for about a month. (After a month, they begin to rot.) Give them a try- you won't regret it!