What is it?

el dub

el dub

Joined
Nov 2, 2005
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There is only one of these trees on the ranch. I've never seen another any where else. Does anybody know what it is. Kind of like a grapefruit inside.
 

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Around here they're called Hedge Apples.......Hedge Tree...

Also known as Osage Orange, or Bois D'arc (wood of the bow).

One "apple" may contain up to 3000 seeds. The trees make

great hedges, and were widely planted for use as fences.
 
horseapple is osage orange? i never knew that. don't eat them! they make good reactive targets, though.
 
Ive shot sooo many w/ a 22 i couldnt even fathom the number...and yes reatice as hell!
Being in oklahoma this was the wood of choice for the Native Americans during the days of old
 
Yep, Osage Orange tree........hard, hard wood, maybe more so than oak!
And yes, a blast to explode with some Stingers!!!
My parents driveway is lined on both sides with them!
 
Fruit from an Osage Orange , called hedge apples in these parts. You should be able to find a dandy walking stick in that tree . The Osage wood is vary hard. There are 100 year old fence post made from them.
 
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in hawaii we call them bread fruit.....another name for them is Ulu. very stinky once fallen on the ground and left to rot.
 
That most certainly is Maclura Pomifera. It is of the Mulberry family. Horse apple, hedge, hedge apple, bois d'arc (french for "bow wood"), bowdark, bordark, a few other names, are all synonyms for Osage orange. I have made literally hundreds of self and backed bows from Osage and know of no finer wood for the shorter bows. I often have to trade our Pacific Northwest Yew wood for quality Osage staves and billets (Osage is not native here). The tree was highly prized by the Native Americans for a number of uses but mostly for bow making. The farmers and ranchers prized the Osage for fence post, tool handles (I use it for this too), wooden spokes, etc.

The fruit (often called "monkey brain", "green brain", etc.) can create several health hazards around livestock and humans. Claimed to keep a variety of pests out of barns, basements, etc., when spread about, I have had no such luck with the fruit that I experimented with.
 
As said before, hedge apple. Some people say they are good for keeping spiders out of the basement etc but don't know if it is true. Fun to shoot at. If squirrel hunting, it is a good place to sit down. They like to eat them in the fall. Hedge is also famous for a 100 year post, making bows, and I've been told a kaki color can be made from the roots. Osage Orange . Planted in hedge rows to keep wind erosion down. Be careful burning it inside a tipi. Hot fire and if someone messes with it, it will errupt into a 4th of July fountain of sparks that will bounce on everything and continue to glow. If cut, fairly straight shoots will grow from the stump to make good hard, heavy, walking sticks. Sometimes used for knife handles. Been told to thown them into a pond to cure due to the problem of cracking or paint the ends of the log and let cure. Kind of a yellow wood but will oxidize to a nice amber orange as it ages. Sorry, can't help myself sometimes. Enjoy learning from everyone else and thought I would pass info on. Regards Loosearrow
 
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