Maclura Pomifera

Commonly called Osage orange, hedge apple, horse apple, or bois d arc (bodark) apple, the maclura pomifera has been a great flora discovery since we arrived in Missouri.

One afternoon on a family walk, I finally asked what these fluorescent green 'fruits' were lying all over the ground. The long list of names listed above were given to these mystery balls. Finally, the elusive bois d arc tree was exposed heavy with these same 'apples'.

I had seen the dog with one and thought it was synthetic by the color, but apparently they turn this color in the fall. We busted one open to discover they did not seem edible or usable, but the dog loved to chew on it until he hit the middle where it seemed to give an off-taste.

At the time of the walk, I did not think much about it other than glad to finally identify a bois d arc tree. A few weeks later, a friend informed us that these malcura pomifera were great for repelling brown recluse spiders! Their home was infested with them when they moved in and once learning this use for the hedge apple, they placed them in the crawl space and in closets and other strategic locations. It cut their brown recluse problem down 90% almost overnight. The nice part is that they do not rot, but instead just dry out. They should last about 6 months and then will need to be replaced.

That was enough for me. The next day I had the children collect some unbruised osage oranges and bring them in. I placed them in strategic locations and have not seen any more brown recluses in those spaces. We saw some when we first moved in and then had a reprieve; however, in the week before the news, we saw a half dozen or more. I plan to collect a few more and place them elsewhere in the house.

Since I seem to have a mild case of arachnophobia, especially of spiders that could potentially cause necrosis, I have been a little worried about brown recluses which are common in the area. Scientific studies have found that extracts of Osage orange do repel several insect species, in some studies just as well as the widely used synthetic insect repellent DEET. Since using synthetic insecticides is not an option for us, it was a relief to find this natural solutiong...literally in the backyard!

I find it amazing how God has provided a solution in His creation. Everything has its place and purpose in God's design.

"And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good." Genesis 1:31a