The Hedge Apple's are Making

Bumper crop of hedgeapples in OK and KS this year!!

 

Hedge Apple's are on the ground!!

The Osage Orange Tree and the Hedge Apple.

 

 J. D. Burton wrote - The Osage Orange tree (also known as a Bodark tree) produces no sawtimber, pulpwood, or utility poles, but it has been planted in greater numbers than almost any other tree species in North America. Osage-orange was planted in great numbers, first as a field hedge, before barbed wire became available, secondly as a windbreak and component of shelter belts, and thirdly to stabilize soils and control erosion.

There was once estimated to be over 250,000 miles of Osage Orange hedge rows such as this. No other wood played such an important part in the early movement west of the settlers as the Osage Orange. It provided the necessary means to divide land and contain livestock. As it grew the branches were intertwined to make the hedge almost impenetrable by animals

as well as man. These "sharp as needle" thorns aided greatly to the fence effect as did the  quick growth of this species. Some say barbed-wire was modeled after this ferocious tree. 

 

Osage-orange heartwood is the most decay-resistant of all North American timbers and is immune to termites. The branch wood was used by the Osage Indians for making bows and is still recommended by some archers today. James Easter, Bowyer still handcrafts primitive bows from Osage-orange wood. Below is a photo of Easter's Osage-orange wood staves drying for bow making.

Dried Osage-orange heartwood is one of the highest in BTU's when used as firewood. According to Hedgeapple.com, "There is an person in Americus, Ks who makes Harps from Osage Orange because he believes it is the most dimensionally stable of all woods when aged and placed under strain."

Additionally, some believe the chemical properties of the fruit, seed, roots, bark, and wood may be more important than the structural qualities of the wood. A number of extracts of actual and potential value in food processing, pesticide manufacturing, and dye-making have been identified by researchers, but they have not yet been employed by industry.  

Now, about the HedgeApple...

Larger than a grapefruit and knobby to boot , the fruit of Maclura pomifera (cousin of the Mulberry tree) — known as the hedge apple or horse apple, turns yellowish-green when it ripens in the autumn. It also develops an aroma faintly like an orange (hence the name Osage Orange), but it certainly doesn't taste like an orange.


Some folks will tell you that Hedge Apples are poisonous, others will tell you this has been proven not to be true in university studies, and that this belief stems from old tales of farmers finding dead cattle or horses with hedge apples in their mouths. New research contends that  these animals died of suffocation and not poison. Others will tell you that deer and squirrel do munch the hedge apple.

Lots of folks swear by the hedge apples insect-repellent properties. Some folks just put them around whole, while others recommend cutting them up and putting them in a container before setting them around. They do contain a milky white sap that can be messy, but according to some folklore, that is what repels the crawling critters.

But the most interesting thing I have found is from Mullins Log Cabin in Berry, KY. under the heading on their website titled: Hedge Apples & Cancer. These folks convey stories of people who have reportedly used hedge apple to kill cancer cells in their bodies, by way of a chemical found in hedge apples known as Tetrahydroxystilbene. Judy Mullins states she freezes the hedge apples and then grates what she wants to consume each day. She says they taste a bit like cucumbers to her, but maintains some people don't like the taste and recommends putting the shredded hedge apple in a gelatin capsule for those folks.


I found another website, The Racehorse Dispensary,  where the author maintains, "Modern researchers are scrutinizing many of the compounds in the Osage Orange.  One of the active compounds is Tetrahydroxystilbene (THS) which shows significant anti-fungal activity and probably is the one we are most interested in. It is also known as a Resveratrol analog. That name may ring a bell with some. A phytoalexin present in grapes, peanuts and pines  that has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. The TV show, 60 Minutes did a piece on this exciting new compound as featured in wines a few years ago. There continues to be quite a bit of research done on THS. One will find this wonderful substance in the Osage Orange and at much higher levels than can be found in red wine!

I think I find these hypothesis so very interesting because of my desire to have a more holistic approach to medicine. In the last ten years I have observed several extended family members and friends battle and many succumb to cancer, despite traditional treatments like chemotherapy. I feel we may be doing ourselves a disservice in overlooking the old-time natural approach to medicine. Just food for thought.