PlantFiles: Osage Orange, Bois d'arc, Bodock Tree, Horse Apple, Hedge Apple
Maclura pomifera

Someone gave me some seeds about 18 years ago that came from far North Dakota. I got at least one to germinate and planted the tree on a rocky limestone and caliche slope in Brownwood, Texas. It's now a tall beautiful male tree that doesn't make fruit.

I realize that the fruits of this tree can be laborious as well as dangerous to clean up. I need vast amounts of these fruits for a research project. If you are overwhelmed in the fall with osage orange fruits on your property, I will gladly remove them free of charge. This can help us both! Thank you and feel free to contact me at my personal email at bagsdevlin@comcast.net

Tara

Glad to know it repells roaches. I lived in zip code 75147 and have a tree on my vacant lot. Never had to worry about watering it. The kids always enjoyed the fruit of the tree as a ball. They practiced and built their throwing arm by using them. Also, I used the wood and the fruit in a dried flower arrangements. You slice the fruit, arrange on a cookie sheet covered with foil or parchment paper (so the seeping juice want stick to the cookie sheet, saves clean up) and dry in a oven set at 200 or so. Punch a hole in the slice or go ahead and put a hanger (xmas hangers used xmas decorations works fine). You can paint them or leave them the natural color. Enjoy.

I am a park sutp. in Centralia Ill. There are many osage orange trees in this 300 acre park. I agree that the wood makes excellent fire wood and would last a lifetime as fence posts. The problems I have encountered in recent years is that limbs will crack and sag but not break off and milti-trunk trees often split and half will lay over. The worst tho is that the tree must have shallow and/or brittle roots as there have been many uprooted. Granted there was more rain this spring, but they fall when dry also, often with no appreciable wind.

We used to live in Southampton, NY. There was one tree growing right on Noyac Road on the line between Southampton and Sag Harbor. I would see the hedge apples for YEARS, (they fell all over the road) and never knew what this HUGE tree was, and what the apples were. When I finally looked up the fruit in a tree field guide book, I learned what this tree was. That tree was WELL over 40' tall. It was georgeous, but the apples in the road were a hazard both for people and wildlife. Animals would go into the roadway to eat the car-flattened apples, then they would get hit by cars. The tree should NEVER be planted over a roadway, in my opinion. BUT, it is a great shade tree and quite beautiful.

We have MANY of these trees growing on our 3 acres that used to be have cattle grazing. Trees are virtually indestructible and very difficult to remove. Every limb that is cut is replaced by several new ones. Hedgeapples seem to vary from year to year - some years have many and other years few. Squirrels and deer seem to love them which leaves a mess then more trees grow!

Light green fruit make a lovely addition to winter outdoor urn decorations. Impaled on a kebab stick or slender cane and poked in among the greenery they last well through to the new year.

Where (and when) I grew up in south central Kansas, there were still thousands of miles of bodark hedge lining roads all over the countryside. Driving down one of these roads, especially in the summertime, was like driving down a green tunnel, especially if the hedges had not been recently trimmed back. As wildlife shelter, they were absolutely wonderful, providing deep thorny cover for birds and rabbits. I still remember seeing my first indigo bunting, a brilliant blue songbird, flying through the slit of sunshine down the center of one of these emerald tunnels. And covies of quail running across the road from one hedge to the other. But for the past several decades farmers and ranchers have systematically eradicated the old hedge rows, as they took up a lot of acreage that could be used for crops or forage. Not too many long reaches of hedge are left now. As a yard plant, they aren't well adapted to our small modern lots, because of the thorns and shrubby growth habits and mess from the falling fruits. But on a larger acreage or in a wildscape, they would be a wonderful addition, and relatively easy to grow, even in a harsh plains climate.
John Blair, Arlington Texas (native of Wichita, Kansas)

My son has these trees growing in his back yard on city property as a hedge groove. This was farmland before the homes were built. The city will not remove the trees and the homeowner has to take that responibility if he or she wants them gone. The trees are very messing when the hedge apples drop and we (grandkids also) have to be careful not to get hit in the head. The trees are difficult to cut back and remove because of the thorns. Also, it is very expensive to have someone come in chop the trees down. The trees we have are not very attractive. Some have multiple small trunks that have been butchered by someone. I have read that the wood is a beautiful yellow color and the wood is very hard. I will be glad when the trees are remove so that we can garden and utilize the backyard more. These trees are every where in Wichita, Kansas.

I've also seen this in Pittsburgh PA by the river, a long way from it's native North East Texas. The wood from this tree doesn't tend to rot, which is the reason why it was used for fence posts. I've have a small log of it in my aquarium for 20 years now and it always looks the same. As a kid I used the thorns to make barbs for fishing arrows. As a teenager I made a bow from a small branch of this tree and it's a decent bow, but I included the new softwood. The hardwood, which is very hard but flexible, is really what should be used. Very useful and nice looking tree, entertaining fruit!

I vote negative only because of the plants endless thorns and the fact it takes excessive space to be raised as a continous bush fence row. After a child steps on one of these thorns the next stop will be the hospital. A horse can injure itself by stepping on these thorns. Foot problems with any animal is difficult to doctor.

I have primative method bow hunter friends who still make selfed bows with which they hunt.

I have seen this plant growing in soil from netrual into acid levels of 5.5 PH.

This tree is dioeceous meaning it has male and female flowers on different plants. It is only the female tree that bears fruit. I personally would not grow the tree as a specimen in the yard it is perfectly suitable for a hedge and a pasture tree. I live in eastern Kansas and the tree is considered a weed tree along with the Eastern Red Cedar and we are aggressive in their removal.

One of the worst situations caused by this tree is if your have many old ones on your property are the thorns. We have experienced many flat tires on our tractor and wheelbarrow.
The thorns can be as long as one inch on the smallest dead branch often unseen until it has done it's damage.

The wood is very hot when it burns. If it is used in a fireplace one should be very careful. If it has a certain amount of pitch it will create a fire just like a Sparkler.

On the other side of the coin, I have seen a very beautiful live hedge created from these trees . It makes a good barrier fro unwanted guest! The owner told me it is not fun to shear!

I have several of these trees on my property, both male and female. They are great shade trees!

The limbs can get heavy at times and break off. Where one breaks off, or one is trimmed, several more grow back in it's place.

There's nothing like being woke up in the middle of the night from a horse apple falling on the roof.

I was once told that the milk in the horse apples are poisonous to roaches, spread them around your house & no more roach problems. We've lived here for 10 years and hardly an roaches at all, just the occasional stray one.

The good of this tree outweighs the bad. I wouldn't trade them for much of anything!

I grew up on a farm in Collin County, Texas. These lovely trees are common there.
Word of caution to those who have cows or any other animal which you might want to get milk from for drinking, the apples, when eaten by the animals, give the milk a bitter taste.
Other than that they are great trees and there are crafts to be done by slicing and backing the apples...they look like dried "flowers". Don't eat them.

The first time I saw one was when I was little. I was fascinated. I still love them. I bring the ''hedgeballs'' home every year and set them in front of the flower beds as accents. They have a sticky sap that make me itch, so I wear gloves and take a sack along.

This tree/shrub appears to grow freely in my area. We just moved here and are trying to identify most of what's growing on our property. The Bois D'Arc trees, wild roses and cedars are all that I have managed to identify so far. I'm not too crazy about the thorns on this tree, but won't give it a negative until I find out more about it. I do favor the fact that wildlife are attracted to it...

I have quite a few large specimens of these trees on my farm & in my yard, & apart from having to rake/pile up the "fruit" in early autumn, I find them quite lovely, especially if one takes the time to provide a little maintenance - i.e. clip off suckers, stray branches, dead wood, etc.

Even during our hottest summer temps & drought periods the canopies are always impenetrably dense with bright shiny green leaves, & the garden swing I have situated underneath one is always the coolest spot to be on a hot humid day.

The dense cover & thickly corrugated bark is like a magnet to all sorts of birds, especially woodpeckers, nuthatches, & warblers, & the fruit, although inedible to humans, is positively adored by wildlife. I have personally watched deer breaking them apart & munching on them, & it's hilarious watching squirrels attempt to drag them to a safe haven for snacking.

All in all, I give this interesting tree a definite thumbs up.

The seeds of this tree are easy to retrieve if the fruit rots a while. Just pry them open and you'll find the seeds in the pulpy center. They're about the size of orange seeds. I wouldn't recommend cutting into the fruit while it is still green because the milky sap in the fruit is very sticky and hard to get off.

I think this is one of the most interesting trees I have ever seen. The fruit is perfectly wrinkled and light green in color. I picked one from the ground and used a knife to split it in half. To my surprise, there were small 1/4" larvae wriggling about in the rotted portion of the fruit close to the stem. The tree I see from my front window looks like it could have been along a hedge line several years ago. I am thinking at least 50 years ago according to the locals in the area. At any rate this tree is well over 40 feet tall more like 60 to 70 feet and is one of the most beautiful trees I have ever seen. The wood is beautiful. I am not sure I would plant it in my yard because the fruit is nearly grapefruit sized and a little to plentiful for me to go out and clean up every day. Plus if one of these horseapples hit you in the head on its way down, it would definately leave a bruise!

I wanted to report that this tree grows in Pittsburgh, PA, as well. Specifically, I know of two gigantic specimens on the grounds of the Amberson Apartments on Morewood Ave. in the Shadyside district of the city. They are certainly taller than the 40 feet listed as the max height here; my guess is that they're closer to 75 feet. I have no idea how old they are. There are also smaller ones in abandonned lots and parks in the rest of Pittsburgh.

I saw this for the first time in Greenport, LI NY when looking at a piece of property. I did no know what it was and everyone I knew didn't either. Two years went by and I moved to Greenport but not that property. When I was walking my dog I saw to my surprise a mature one growing in my neighborhood. I picked up the orange and kept it hoping it would turn into a seed. That was three years again. Last eek I was in a Dr's office and found an article on Lewis and Clark- lo and behold there it was
So I was able to surf the net . It is a lovely tree with nice fragrance and the 'fruit' has a slight odor.
I heard you have to freeze the fruit to make it grow.

It is growing very well in Delaware County, Ohio. It is doing particularly well near the Marina in the State Park in Delaware.I am hoping to grow it as hedging on my land next year. I have some wet and dry land, so I may be able to report on its tolerances.

Don't bother with cuttings - I experimented with several ways to propagate and seed is the overwhelming best way (seed seems to need freezing temp in winter to germinate - I put mine in the freezer for a month and get high percentage germination). As simply a tree in the yard, it's the most awful thing you ever planted, but it makes a great hedge. I like it because in my humble opinion it has the most beautiful wood of any native North American species.

This tree grows in the east-central region of Iowa. I am in the process of trying to get more established along an old fence row. An interesting note; Fenceposts made from this tree were sometimes used when still green. They would ocasionally take root and grow. That is one reason you can find these trees growing along fences to this day.

Ordinarily, you shouldn't mix (or confuse) apples and oranges - except when it comes to the fruit of Maclura pomifera which you might know as Osage Orange or Hedge Apple, depending on where you grew up. Another common name, Bois d'arc, is an allusion to the Native American's use of the wood to make bows.

This spiny hedge shrub/tree is commonly found growing throughout the central U.S. The fruit is inedible and quite hard, but some sources indicate it can be used as an alternative foodsource for silkworms. It's also sometimes recommended as a natural insect repellant, specifically against cockroaches and crickets.