# What is the geometric pattern on an osage orange or hedge apple?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-geometric-pattern-on-an-osage-orange-or-hedge-apple/135261>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 5, 2002, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-geometric-pattern-on-an-osage-orange-or-hedge-apple/135261 "2002-11-05T15:04:09Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![femtosecond](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f08c70/32.png) [@femtosecond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/femtosecond)\
**Post date:** [November 5, 2002, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-geometric-pattern-on-an-osage-orange-or-hedge-apple/135261/1 "2002-11-05T15:04:09Z")

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The hamsters wanted some fruit and ate the post. It’s not only squirrels liking the seeds. 🙂 I’ll work from the title.

Two nice big pictures for those like me who have never seen it before.  
[http://www.mcmullans.org/canal/osage\_orange.htm](http://www.mcmullans.org/canal/osage_orange.htm)  
[http://members.iglou.com/perkins/newkpf/2001\_11/home3507.htm](http://members.iglou.com/perkins/newkpf/2001_11/home3507.htm)

It’s an aggregate fruit, made from smaller parts that grew together. Here’s a page with a picture of its flowers: [http://www.extension.iastate.edu/pages/tree/osage-or.html](http://www.extension.iastate.edu/pages/tree/osage-or.html)  
[http://waynesword.palomar.edu/jackfr1.htm](http://waynesword.palomar.edu/jackfr1.htm)

> [@](#):
>
> Multiple fruits of the mulberry family are composed of numerous, seed-bearing, ripened ovaries derived from numerous separate flowers. The multiple fruit of a mulberry (Morus) is composed of a cluster of drupelets superficially resembling a blackberry; however, unlike a blackberry, each drupelet arises from a separate minute flower.

and further down [http://waynesword.palomar.edu/jackfr1.htm#osage](http://waynesword.palomar.edu/jackfr1.htm#osage)

> [@](#):
>
> Like the breadfruit and jackfruit, it is a true multiple fruit composed of numerous separate ovaries, each arising from a separate female flower. In fact, the bumpy surface of the fruit is due to the numerous, tightly-packed ovaries of the female flowers.