OSAGE-ORANGE (continued from page 23) 
difficult, and it is exceptionally durable. American Indians made osage- 
orange bows, which offers one explanation for the origin of the name 
“Ozark”, as set forth by the late Missouri Botanical Garden botanist Julian 
Steyermark. He believed that French settlers called the tree Bois d’Arc 
(“bow wood”), which evolved into Bodark and ultimately into Ozark. 
(There exists at least one alternative plausible explanation for the origin of 
“Ozark” .) 
Maclura honors the early American geologist William Maclure, and 
pomifera means “ apple-bearing” in Latin. 
PAWPAW 7 
Asimina triloba 
The Custard-Apple Family (Annonaceae) 
contains some 2,300 species, all of them 
tropical except for the nine species of the 
genus Asimina. These are confined to the 
southeastern U.S. except for the pawpaw, 
which ranges from southern Canada to 
Florida and Texas. Thus this local native 
(see wild pawpaws at the Shaw Arbore- 
tum) is a lone far-flung satellite. 
Pawpaws have a certain tropical 
deep-purple flowers; and soft, sweet 
fruits a little reminiscent of bananas in 
appearance and flavor. 
The fruits are edible when ripe straight from the tree or in ice creams 
and other desserts. Their palatability varies, and they fall into two broad 
categories—one type ripens early and is large with richly flavored yellow 
flesh; the other type is sometimes smaller, ripens later, and has white, 
milder flesh. Rich in nutritional value, including high levels of vitamins A 
and C, pawpaw fruits have received attention for commercial cultivation, 
but do not store or ship well. Additional drawbacks are that they nause- 
ate some people, sometimes cause a rash when handled, and contain a 
depressant drug in the seeds. 
The cup-shaped, purple flowers smell a little like fermenting grapes. 
In May try to observe the following mechanism that promotes their cross- 
pollination. When the flower first opens, the stigmas (pollen-receptive 
26 
Se 
aspect, with their large leaves; dangling, — 
