The Karankawa Indians here in Texas used the wood of a native tree that was latter dubbed 'bois d'arc' (commonly pronounced 'bow-dark') that has a yellowish dense wood. It is known to have long thorns on it and the females grow these huge knobby balls that were known as 'horseapples'...they were supposed to be good at keeping the roaches away. Anyway, I grew up with one of these trees in my backyard...fortunately we had a male, which never gave fruit and it made the best shade tree. One had to be cautious about going out barefoot. Those thorns were PAINFUL! But I became adept at stepping around them. We tried burning some of the wood after we had to cut down one of its extensions, but all it did was spark and sputter and smoulder, even after we waited two years to burn it. I have read the Karankawa made something equivalent to the English long bow.
Evening, it's also called Hedge and Osage Orange (Maclura pomifera). It's quite remarkable wood. Very dense, extremely resistent to bugs and disease. Fence posts can last 100 years and still be good when dug up. Apparently the original range was Oklahoma and parts of Texas. Transplanted and grown by the Osage Indians near their villages. Highly prized for bows, examples have been found in the Dakotas. My best shooting bows are made of osage.