| 1. | Also called bois d'arc, bowwood. a tree, Maclura pomifera, of the mulberry family, native to the south-central U.S., having hard, yellowish wood and often cultivated for hedges. |
| 2. | the round, rough-skinned, inedible fruit of this tree. |
bowwood
(Maclura pomifera), thorny tree with large, yellow-green, wrinkled fruit and a milky sap that can produce dermatitis in humans. It is the only species of its genus in the mulberry family (Moraceae). It is native to the south-central United States but has been planted extensively farther north in the Mississippi River valley and at points east of there.
Learn more about bowwood with a free trial on Britannica.com.
