Bodark Tree

We have a Bodark tree on our land.  It is known by a variety of other names, including Osage Orange, horseapple and hedgeapple.  It's a rather large tree and probably many years old.  Here is a picture of it from a distance.

And here is a picture of me standing beside it.

That's our beagle "Lizzy" with me. 

The word Bodark is a pronunciation derived from the French phrase "bois d'arc" meaning "wood of the bow".  French traders and explorers named it this because they found Native Americans using this tree's wood to make bows.  In addition to making excellent bows, it also resists rot so that it makes good fence posts which made its wood prized by early settlers.

The fruit of the Bodark tree looks like a green orange, thus the name Osage Orange.  Squirrels love them and will shred and scatter the pulp to get at the seeds.  Also, as the name "horseapple" implies, horses will eat them if there is a Bodark tree in their pasture.  Here is a picture of one of the fruit.

The tree can be a pain (literally) in that it has thorns.  This was, however, a desirable trait by early settlers before the invention of barbed wire.  One could create a "hedge row" of these trees by planting them close together so that their flexible lower branches could be interwoven creating an almost impenetrable barrier to large animals.  In fact, some historians credit the Bodark's thorns for inspiring the invention of barbed wire.  Here's a picture of some of the thorns.

The wood of the tree is yellow and a yellow dye can be made of the roots.  This fact found an industrial application for coloring the khakis worn by the "doughboys" of World War I.

Needless to say, I have gained a new respect for this tree after reading about its history.