A farming family at Benalla has recently discovered that one of the rarest and most coveted skin care oils had been growing on their trees for almost a century.
Last year, Rupert de Crespigny and Angie Hamilton established their very own skin care company, POMM, after the discovery that came purely by chance.
"After frequently being bombed by cockatoos who have always tried to fly off with the large green seed balls from our Osage orange trees, it took a tip off from an octogenarian visitor to make us look further into the amazing tree and its fruit, the Hedge Apple," Mr de Crespigny said.
He said while the wood made incredibly long-lasting fence posts, very good bows and arrows and a stunning orange dye, it was the fruit that became fascinating.
"The fruit is called a Hedge Apple because of the historical use in North America of the immature Osage orange trees to make stock barriers using the long and sharp thorns, and the fact that the fruit is green and round," he said.
"But that is where the similarity ends.
"The Hedge Apple is completely fibrous and full of sticky sap.
"The native Indians in North America used to cut the Hedge Apples in half and rub them on any cut, rash, burn, abrasion or other skin irritation."
He said more research led them to realise the incredible capabilities of the oil which was extracted from the seeds of the Hedge Apple - Pomifera Oil.
"Pomifera Oil is incredibly rich in antioxidants and has one of the highest levels of naturally-produced Linoleic Acid of any oil, more than 76 per cent," he said.
"Linoleic Acid is not able to be produced by the human body but provides extreme hydrating and anti-inflammatory properties, essential for skin health and cellular activity.
"Pomifera Oil's second highest compound is Oleic Acid, excellent for dry and ageing skin as it penetrates deeply, having the ability to easily restore the natural oils of the skin.
"Together, linoleic and oleic acid lock intense moisture into the skin to soothe, heal and protect the skin from environmental exposure and ageing."
Mr de Crespigny said it was a lengthy process to harvest the oil by hand, separate the seeds from the Hedge Apples and then extract the oil from the seeds.
"However, the process is completely natural and uses only cold water," he said.
"It takes more than 100 kilograms of Hedge Apples to produce 200 millilitres of oil, but to exclusively produce such pure magic in Australia is worth the effort."