# What is This Weird Fruit? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 4, 2010, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-weird-fruit/562952 "2010-12-04T18:55:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-weird-fruit/562952/1 "2010-12-04T18:55:55Z")
I was cutting back some shrubs in the yard, and encountered a very strange fruit. These are like small yellow apples-about 2 " in diameter, and extremely hard-I had a tough time cutting on in half. I tasted the thing, and it was very sout. It grew on a shrub that had thorns on it-and leaves that looked a bit like apple leaves. Anybody know what this thing is? I could not find it in a book of N American trees. ---
**Author:** ![robcaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@robcaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robcaro)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-weird-fruit/562952/2 "2010-12-04T18:57:34Z")
Can you provide photos of the shrub and the fruit. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-weird-fruit/562952/3 "2010-12-04T19:01:03Z")
[Quince?](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quince) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-weird-fruit/562952/4 "2010-12-04T19:05:22Z")
“What’s this weird fruit” questions often turn out to be [Osage Orange.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maclura_pomifera) ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-weird-fruit/562952/5 "2010-12-04T19:08:47Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > “What’s this weird fruit” questions often turn out to be [Osage Orange.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maclura_pomifera) I thought the same thing as soon as I read the thread title (though I was thinking Hedge Apple). But normally when people find one they either have a picture are describe it in more detail the the OP since it’s so unusual looking. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-weird-fruit/562952/6 "2010-12-04T19:13:59Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > “What’s this weird fruit” questions often turn out to be [Osage Orange.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maclura_pomifera) Interesting. Never heard of it. But the OP should take note of this before eating strange unidentified fruit: > [@](#): > > The fruit has a pleasant and mild odor, but is inedible for the most part. Although it is not strongly poisonous, eating it may cause vomiting. Is this fruit difficult to cut into? I immediately thought quince because it’s extremely hard to cut and has a sour and astringent flavor. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-weird-fruit/562952/7 "2010-12-04T19:18:28Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > “What’s this weird fruit” questions often turn out to be [Osage Orange.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maclura_pomifera) Interesting tree. I especially like this trivia factoid: When dried, the wood has the highest BTU content of any wood, and burns long and hot. ---
**Author:** ![Ionizer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5daacb/32.png) [@Ionizer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ionizer)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-weird-fruit/562952/8 "2010-12-04T19:21:09Z")
Maybe [Poncirus trifoliata](http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&expIds=17259,18168,23756,24692,24878,24879,27084,27213,27400,27744,27868,27937&sugexp=ldymls&xhr=t&q=poncirus+trifoliata&cp=5&qe=cG9uY2k&qesig=6rsyAMhxTKYf67hEoYIcrw&pkc=AFgZ2tmAojEntu06zVcwxKXcyxhEP3Q-wEjGyDgwJjMiQ_v5lgcq5-_-lb2EiyuOqdnyQzhnGs04A0hASXG7ff-Hfc0obx4S8g&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&biw=1366&bih=615)? Has little yellowish ‘fruits’ and has rather prominent thorns as well. Is known to spread easily, too, so it can ‘volunteer’ in obscure areas, ime. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-weird-fruit/562952/9 "2010-12-04T20:32:23Z")
> [@Ionizer](#): > > Maybe [Poncirus trifoliata](http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&expIds=17259,18168,23756,24692,24878,24879,27084,27213,27400,27744,27868,27937&sugexp=ldymls&xhr=t&q=poncirus+trifoliata&cp=5&qe=cG9uY2k&qesig=6rsyAMhxTKYf67hEoYIcrw&pkc=AFgZ2tmAojEntu06zVcwxKXcyxhEP3Q-wEjGyDgwJjMiQ_v5lgcq5-_-lb2EiyuOqdnyQzhnGs04A0hASXG7ff-Hfc0obx4S8g&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&biw=1366&bih=615)? Has little yellowish ‘fruits’ and has rather prominent thorns as well. Is known to spread easily, too, so it can ‘volunteer’ in obscure areas, ime. You nailed it! Are these “fruits” edible? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-weird-fruit/562952/10 "2010-12-04T20:55:24Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > You nailed it! Are these “fruits” edible? Is [this what it looked like on the inside?](http://botany.csdl.tamu.edu/FLORA/dcs420/d/hdw17100303b.jpg) If so, it appears [not to be so good to eat.](http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/t/trifoliate_orange_poisoning/intro.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Myglaren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Myglaren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myglaren)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-weird-fruit/562952/11 "2010-12-04T22:32:55Z")
We have a few bushes of those growing at work, I have wondered for the past seven years what they could be. ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2010, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-weird-fruit/562952/12 "2010-12-05T00:15:19Z")
Oh, it’s Ponzu! ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2010, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-weird-fruit/562952/13 "2010-12-05T04:05:58Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > I was cutting back some shrubs in the yard, and encountered a very strange fruit. Let’s hope it’s not the strange fruit in the [song.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4ZyuULy9zs) ---
**Author:** ![Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swords_to_Plowshares)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2010, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-weird-fruit/562952/14 "2010-12-05T07:44:31Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Is [this what it looked like on the inside?](http://botany.csdl.tamu.edu/FLORA/dcs420/d/hdw17100303b.jpg) > > If so, it appears [not to be so good to eat.](http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/t/trifoliate_orange_poisoning/intro.htm) [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poncirus_trifoliata) says it can be safely made in to marmalade. ---
**Author:** ![Yeah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/dbc845/32.png) [@Yeah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeah)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2010, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-weird-fruit/562952/15 "2010-12-05T13:52:39Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > You nailed it! Are these “fruits” edible? It is considered invasive in many parts of the United States. Invasive Listing Sources: ``` * Mid-Atlantic Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2005 * Nonnative Invasive Species in Southern Forest and Grassland Ecosystems * Reichard, Sarah. 1994. Assessing the potential of invasiveness in woody plants introduced in North America. University of Washington Ph.D. dissertation. * WeedUS - Database of Plants Invading Natural Areas in the United States * Alabama Invasive Plant Council * Georgia Exotic Pest Plant Council Category 3 * South Carolina Exotic Pest Plant Council Significant Threat ``` ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2010, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-weird-fruit/562952/16 "2010-12-05T14:00:00Z")
Are the fruits of Poncirus trifoliata that hard to cut? The OP’s description still sounds more like a Chaenomeles quince to me - in photographs, the two plants, with their fruits, look superficially quite similar\*, but I’d have thought the ‘apple’ part of the description fits a quince better. \*For example: [this](http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.itmonline.org/articles/chaenomeles/Chaenomeles_html_m5b4e60d.png&imgrefurl=http://www.itmonline.org/articles/chaenomeles/chaenomeles.htm&usg=__2Et8p-jSs7K5z_ga4-IPrp9fOjw=&h=360&w=480&sz=279&hl=en&start=10&zoom=1&tbnid=vY6PID96Hs8SGM:&tbnh=136&tbnw=189&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dchaenomeles%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-GB:official%26biw%3D1024%26bih%3D438%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C381&um=1&itbs=1&ei=lZr7TKD9HIa54AburtzHBw&iact=hc&vpx=760&vpy=196&dur=36&hovh=167&hovw=223&tx=131&ty=83&oei=j5r7TMH_NITJhAeb-u21Bw&esq=2&page=2&ndsp=10&ved=1t:429,r:9,s:10&biw=1024&bih=438) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2010, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-weird-fruit/562952/17 "2010-12-05T14:20:29Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Are the fruits of Poncirus trifoliata that hard to cut? The OP’s description still sounds more like a Chaenomeles quince to me - in photographs, the two plants, with their fruits, look superficially quite similar\*, but I’d have thought the ‘apple’ part of the description fits a quince better. I agree. The Poncirus trifoliata looks like a citrus fruit in texture, which is partly why I posted a picture of the inside cross-section of it in a follow-up post. Quince is hard as a rock to cut through.