Osage Orange

Known easily in the Fall by it's massive fruits, the Osage Orange, or Hedge-Apple (sometimes even Horse-Apple here in Texas), is a pretty common tree around here. My first thought driving past one on the side of the road was that it was an orange tree with unripe fruit, but oranges need a lot of water so I was skeptical. When they never started changing color, I was sure they were not oranges. While they may be named oranges, they are actually in the mulberry family (along with figs).
Since, like the persimmons, Osage orange trees come in male and female not every tree will have fruit. When the fruit is not there (whether it's a male plant or it's simply Spring) to help identify this plant another clue is the thorns. Where the leaf attaches to the branch there is a thorn, it's short and slightly lighter colored than the branch.
The leaves are alternate, simple, with smooth edges, generally growing between 3-5 inches long but can get up to a whopping 8. They are thinner than they are long, only up to about 3 inches. They have even bases, long stems, and are wider near the base and are tapered at the ends. The tops are smooth and glossy, but I don't know about the bottoms because all the leaves within reach were already dry.
The trees grow up to about 40 feet and have low lying branches giving it the appearance of a short trunk. The bark is dark and scaly and the branches produce milky sap when broken. The branches are very twisty and form a densely packed and rounded tree.
The fruit, as you can see, looks remarkably similar to green brains or a shriveling orange. They turn yellow green and last for months. They are quite large getting up to 5 inches in diameter, so around the size of a softball.

Despite being in a family with many edible fruits only the Osage's seeds are edible. There are up to 200 seeds per fruit, though some have none. I've seen the whole fruits smashed on the ground and they actually resemble old nasty mushrooms sometimes, they are gross inside. The edible seeds are covered with a slimy husk, which also must be removed in order to eat them.

These trees had many uses, it's really cool to read about. They were prized for making bows, they produce tannin for tanning leather, and due to the low and thorny branches it was used for a long time for hedge rows and fences.