On Aug 4, 2012, at 3:15 PM, Leslie C. Skip Stewart-Abernathy wrote:
> snip.
> 
> And yes, bodark evidently had it's last refuge in a small region in NE Texas and into the nearby Ouachitas in Arkansas.  According to David Jurney as elaborated by Frank Schambach (the tie to the bodark bow trade is significant), the huge "horse apple" fruits were inedible after the decline of the megafauna and thus the seeds for replacement trees were not being distributed naturally any more.  So the range was becoming more and more restricted until 19th century folks started shipping seeds around.

The former world record Osage Orange tree was recently dethroned. This monster was about 7 feet in diameter. It was located at Red Hill in Charlotte County, VA. They were also planted as hedgerows supposedly in the early 19th century on Eppes Island in Charles City County, VA where it reaches diameters of 3 feet and 60 feet in height with interlocking branches that won't blow over in storms, as designed.

The wood makes better fenceposts than locust, burns with amazing colors as firewood, and makes a very exotic gunstock in color and grain. But the oranges are the absolute favorite food for gray squirrels, by which they are spread. The trees were also grown as an exotic ornamental in a variety of places in VA.

A more prosaic use is for household ornamentation and as a folkloric insect repellant.

Lyle Browning, RPA