Osage Orange

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Hiram Maxim

Minister of Fire
Nov 25, 2007
1,065
SE Michigan
Saw about 50 mature trees........Osage Oranges at Pine Lake Elementary School in West Bloomfield, Michigan.


These softball sized fruits, trees are indigenous to the Red River Valley in South Central Oklahoma. The wood is one of the densest in North America!

Also called "Bodark tree" is a slurring of the French “bois d’arc,†meaning “wood of the bowâ€â€”a reference to the Osage Indians.


There must have been an farm on the old school property as Osage Orange was planted in fence rows because they are naturally thorny, and live stock will stay clear of them. The row of trees is about 400 feet long evenly spaced about 4 feet. Trees were huge......

Pretty cool to see here in the Detroit area!
 

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Also called Hedge. Tough to cut when seasoned.
 
I've seen the fruit for sale on Craigslist . Apparently it keeps away spiders?

Maybe a couple of the fossilized old Wisemen will chime in to verify that claim. :S
 
I'll have to keep an eye out for some. I didn't know they would grow in our climate, I'm just across the border in Windsor.
 
Hiram Maxim said:
Saw about 50 mature trees........Osage Oranges at Pine Lake Elementary School in West Bloomfield, Michigan.


These softball sized fruits, trees are indigenous to the Red River Valley in South Central Oklahoma. The wood is one of the densest in North America!

Also called "Bodark tree" is a slurring of the French “bois d’arc,†meaning “wood of the bowâ€â€”a reference to the Osage Indians.


There must have been an farm on the old school property as Osage Orange was planted in fence rows because they are naturally thorny, and live stock will stay clear of them. The row of trees is about 400 feet long evenly spaced about 4 feet. Trees were huge......

Pretty cool to see here in the Detroit area!


Nice picture HM, do the wildlife eat the fruit?

zp
 
I think the only responsible thing to do is advise the school administration of the dangers these trees pose especially to young children.
 
maybe they planted them to keep the spiders away from the school kids ha funny you posted this because yesterday at church i seen a box full they were giving away and i was asking everyone who brought them in..... figured i could hit up one of the old church ladies for some firewood ;-P
 
scotvl said:
I'll have to keep an eye out for some. I didn't know they would grow in our climate, I'm just across the border in Windsor.

and scotvl i've lost alot of money in your city so if you find it let me know :mad:
 
wishlist said:
I've seen the fruit for sale on Craigslist . Apparently it keeps away spiders?

Maybe a couple of the fossilized old Wisemen will chime in to verify that claim. :S

Old wives tale! They don't work. I am not old, but I tried them to keep the wolf spiders outta my basement. I think they actually attracted them! :coolgrin:
 
SolarAndWood said:
I think the only responsible thing to do is advise the school administration of the dangers these trees pose especially to young children.



What are the dangers??? When I was a kid in North Texas there were plenty of these we threw them at each other, I remember cutting one open and tasted it , not good , but squirrels eat them.
 
I saw my first last week when we took a trip to a duPont estate, Winterthur.
I bet it would give you a headache if one of those fruits fell on your head!
 
wishlist said:
I've seen the fruit for sale on Craigslist . Apparently it keeps away spiders?

Maybe a couple of the fossilized old Wisemen will chime in to verify that claim. :S
Ha! "Fossilized Old Wisemen" I have never been called that, but I think I like it......and yes, the saying goes, they will keep away spiders. Not sure about that, but sure have cut and burned and stayed warm by many a fire of Osage Orange or Hedge as we call it in Central IL. ;-P
 
Did you bag up any of the fruit? I see a few trees toward my parents in Romeo but they fall right on a busy road in a turn with little shoulder so I've never got up enough nerve to pick any up. I figure getting smacked by a car wasn't worth it. :lol: I'm going to plant some and see what happens. Maybe my kids will be able to say "your PaPa planted those when I was just a little guy". :lol:
 
rdust said:
Did you bag up any of the fruit? I see a few trees toward my parents in Romeo but they fall right on a busy road in a turn with little shoulder so I've never got up enough nerve to pick any up. I figure getting smacked by a car wasn't worth it. :lol: I'm going to plant some and see what happens. Maybe my kids will be able to say "your PaPa planted those when I was just a little guy". :lol:
rdust, that is a great idea. They will probably love you for it (this caught my eye because my grandkids call me Papa and I have burned a LOT of Hedge in my lifetime). Actually they grow pretty fast. Amazing that they do considering how dense they are. In the 70's when everybody around here bought stoves (smoke dragons) and started burning, they cut entire 1/2 mile hedge rows down. All the members of the American Business Club here in Tuscola, IL jumped on the band wagon. They were a close nit lot and bought stoves, saws, 1 1/2 ton dump trucks and went out together and annihilated entire hedge rows, like I said, many over a 1/2 mile long. Then the fad ended and they all sold their stoves......found out how much work it was. I wasn't a member but bought a stove at the same time, and I am still burning ;-) My son has one of those stoves that I got him for free. Not the best but he didn't have any money and wanted to burn wood. It is keeping him warm! Anyway, my point in all of this is that those hedge rows cut to the ground in the 70's are all grown back up, from stumps! and are now ready to be harvested again. Hedge is an amazing tree. When God made trees, he didn't mess around with second best when he made the Hedge Tree! :exclaim: ;-)
 
Hiram Maxim said:
Saw about 50 mature trees........Osage Oranges at Pine Lake Elementary School in West Bloomfield, Michigan.


These softball sized fruits, trees are indigenous to the Red River Valley in South Central Oklahoma. The wood is one of the densest in North America!

Also called "Bodark tree" is a slurring of the French “bois d’arc,†meaning “wood of the bowâ€â€”a reference to the Osage Indians.


There must have been an farm on the old school property as Osage Orange was planted in fence rows because they are naturally thorny, and live stock will stay clear of them. The row of trees is about 400 feet long evenly spaced about 4 feet. Trees were huge......

Pretty cool to see here in the Detroit area!
Thanks Hiram, great post. I have burned wood for a long, long time, and I have burned every imaginable wood I could cut. But Hedge always amazed me. It is God's wood. Nothing like it. Nothing can destroy it except fire.....not even a tornado, not even cutting it to the ground. It will be growing strong and healthy when we are all long gone....and probably keeping someone warm. :)
 
I've made a couple recurve bows, the best natural wood is Osage, between 20-40 yrs is ideal, the straighter the better, over 40 and the wood get lss flexible/brittle under 20 and its too flexible, I didn't realize the range was so broad it could grow in, anyone know if wild pigs will eat the fruit?
 
Redbear86 said:
I've made a couple recurve bows, the best natural wood is Osage, between 20-40 yrs is ideal, the straighter the better, over 40 and the wood get lss flexible/brittle under 20 and its too flexible, I didn't realize the range was so broad it could grow in, anyone know if wild pigs will eat the fruit?
That's pretty cool. I always knew they made great recurve bows.....the Indians here knew it too. But I never knew the age thing. I have had everywhere from fresh cut to 20 year old hedge. It is amazing stuff! Keep it coming......I love it!
 
cptoneleg said:
SolarAndWood said:
I think the only responsible thing to do is advise the school administration of the dangers these trees pose especially to young children.



What are the dangers??? When I was a kid in North Texas there were plenty of these we threw them at each other, I remember cutting one open and tasted it , not good , but squirrels eat them.

Purely facetious. Those trees would make a nice addition to any of our wood piles.
 
I was fortunate to grow up here in northern Illinois when many farm fields were fenced with hedge. I have some the neighbor dropped off out in my splitting area. But, if I remember correctly, the way to plant a hedge is to dig a trench about a foot deep where you want the hedge and then take the "Osage Oranges" and mash them up with the end of a post. Mix this mash with water in a five gallon bucket and pour it in the trench as you walk along. Put the dirt back in the trench and let nature do its work. This should, in a couple of years, give you a living fence that cattle and hogs can't get through. And wildlife, deer, squirrels, raccoons and birds feed on the fruits all winter. We have an old hedge tree in the horse lot and I sit at the table with a cup of coffee on a winter morning and watch the various critters feasting on the hedge balls.
 
2late said:
...various critters feasting on the hedge balls.

Come on now - if your from N Illinois - you know they are called MONKEY BRAINS. :lol:

I luvs me some hedge. Hell on chains though.
 
tfdchief said:
Dunragit said:
Also called Hedge. Tough to cut when seasoned.
Hell, it is tough to cut any time....but worth it!
Last month i cut 6 cords of hedge on the same chain. i wouldnt say its tougher at all when its green.
 
OK, looking up the Christmas vacation schedule for Pine Lake Elementary so that I know when to rent the flat bed tractor/trailer. :cheese:
 
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