Native Americans prized the tree for its use in making longbows and other war weapons, officials with the Ozark National Scenic Riverways explain. (Getty)ĭue to its strength, the wood was used to build wagon wheel rims, mine support timbers, and other items. Osage Orange tree tunnel in late autumn at Sugarcreek Metropark, Bellbrook, Dayton, Ohio. Many bird species, squirrels, and deer enjoy it. Other members of the Osage orange family include the mulberry and the fig. When the female trees’ fruit is ready, it is 3 to 5 inches across and falls to the ground in September and October. The yellow-green fruit known as “hedge apples” is produced by the Osage orange tree. Before barbwire was invented, pioneers would move trees to the area and use them as a living fence. Hedge apple trees are not native to the Ozarks, according to the Ozark National Scenic Riverways. The trees are known for their thorns and large green fruit, which have a lot of uses, though not all of them actually work. LOUIS ( KTVI) – Along rivers, the Osage orange - also known as hedge apple, bois d’arc, bodark, bodock, or bow-wood - flourishes. If you use them for anything or make a decoration with them I would love for you to share a picture and story too.ST. They also work outside around your house to ward away nasty critters as well. For me, they most definitely work as a natural insect repellant. To this day, when I am able to get my hands on some I still place them around the house to ward of the creepy crawlers. The thorny Osage orange tree was widely naturalized throughout the United States until this usage was superseded by the invention of barbed wire in 1874. Growing up I always knew them as Monkey Balls and we used them inside the house to keep spiders and bugs away. Under severe pruning, the hedge apple sprouted abundant adventitious shoots from its base as these shoots grew, they became interwoven and formed a dense, thorny barrier hedge. Using hedge apples to control your spider population is an easy, chemical-free pest-control option. Hedge apples are not poisonous, but they are an effective repellent against insects and spiders. You may know them as, Hedge Apple, Hedge Ball, Horse Apple, Green Brains, Monkey Balls or Mock Orange but they are all one in the same. Hedge apples are the fruit of the Osage orange tree, which is native to southern Oklahoma and northern Texas. The average crown spread of the Red Hill tree, according to the registry, is 64 feet. The New Castle Osage crown has a spread of 85 feet, and the Alexandria Osage crown is 90 feet, according to the national big tree registry. In national competition, big trees win points for circumference, height and crown spread.Īnd while there’s no doubt that the Osage-orange tree at the Patrick Henry National Memorial is stout - it’s 27 feet around - its crown has been overshadowed. Red Hill’s Osage-orange was first nominated for the title in 1969. The 2011 National Register of Big Trees stripped the Red Hill tree of its title as the largest of its species in the United States in July and bestowed the mantle upon co-champions, an Osage-orange in Alexandria that resides on property once owned by George Washington, and another in New Castle, Del. The centuries-old Osage-orange tree that reigns over Patrick Henry’s home in Red Hill has been dethroned.Another beautiful decorative display made with osage oranges.This is a beautiful display of Osage Oranges in a fall decorative display.Here they are used as a Christmas table decoration. Some people use them in making wreaths.The squirrels work at getting the seeds out and love eating them. This small tree grows up to 30-40 feet tall and wide. Squirrels enjoy eating the seeds out of the Osage Oranges.Īn osage orange is made up of a network of seeds woven together with a a fibrous membrane laden with creamy white “sticky” sap. Hedge Apple, Maclura pomifera, is also called Osage Orange, hedge, and an assortment of other names.Or you can purchase them in certain areas for a small price.You may know them as, Hedge Apple, Hedge Ball, Horse Apple, Green Brains, Monkey Balls or Mock Orange but they are all one in the same.
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