One of my favorite Texas trees is the bois d'arc, which natives pronounce "boh-dark." It's not much to look at--it has multiple trunks and dense, skinny branches. But once a year it drops melon-sized, chartreuse fruits all over the streets and sidewalks. These "hedge apples" (or, as my grandfather called them, "horse apples") are covered with a lumpy, vaguely reptilian hide. They're dense and inedible, and about the only good thing you can say for them is they hold their shape well as you kick them down the street.
And rolling them (we grew up calling them horse apples)out onto East Kiest Blvd. in South Oak Cliff, they were great for that.
Wow, you guys have all the folk names, and come by them naturally. I feel like Lomax on the prairies. My dad told me they were Osage Oranges, which turns out to be the “official” name. Thought to be native to a fairly small range in TX, AK, OK, the tree may be the best the area has to offer. Still, there is the sex issue. The species has separate male and female trees, which is no better than the way we do things. I think the national tree should have perfect flowers: male and female all in one; all trees bearing flowers and fruit. Just ask the Wheel, he knows OO.
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- Tom Moody 5-05-2001 12:29 am
And rolling them (we grew up calling them horse apples)out onto East Kiest Blvd. in South Oak Cliff, they were great for that.
- jimlouis 5-06-2001 5:19 am [add a comment]
Wow, you guys have all the folk names, and come by them naturally. I feel like Lomax on the prairies. My dad told me they were Osage Oranges, which turns out to be the “official” name. Thought to be native to a fairly small range in TX, AK, OK, the tree may be the best the area has to offer. Still, there is the sex issue. The species has separate male and female trees, which is no better than the way we do things. I think the national tree should have perfect flowers: male and female all in one; all trees bearing flowers and fruit. Just ask the Wheel, he knows OO.
- alex 5-06-2001 8:39 pm [add a comment]