Holy hedge!

[rippinryno]

for some reason i notice honey locust grows in the same areas and rows as hedge. I think it grows naturally more than it's actually planted in rows. Similar to mulberry, the birds sit on a fence and crap and the squirrels go crazy for them, leaving a thick tree line of hedge and mulberry over the years. I also see a lot of hackberry in the fenceline tree rows here in the midwest.

it is by definition - Maclura pomifera

hedge is short for "hedge apple", which is the common term in my parts. It's also described as a small tree that grows

 

[heavy hammer]

I Have been told farmers used these trees as a make shift fence plant them in rows then bend branches over into a new hole for a new tree to grow. Hence the hedge rows.

 

[Oldman47]

From what I have been reading hedge was called that because it was literally used in place of fencing for larger farm animals before the invention of modern barbed wire fencing.

 

[rippinryno]

one thing for sure is that many old fence posts here in the midwest are made from hedge, they call them hedge posts. Plenty of them are over 100 years old and still standing strong. I know for sure Hedge makes a very strong post.

 

[heavy hammer]

A lot of farmers and people who purchase these old farms and develop them are removing these old fence rows. It's a great score if you can get ahold of the wood. The state road department plants a lot of these in areas after doing what ever land work they were doing because they are pretty resilient and spread out over an area. Hedge and locust really don't seem to have any real other uses other than fence posts and firewood. Most people around my area want nothing to do with them, they usually just cut them up and leave in a pile where it fell.