What are hedge balls, Alex?
September 15, 2008 | Stuff
Cathy was right. They’re called hedge balls here, but they’re also known as hedge apples, as she said, or Osage oranges, as Bob said, or even and horse apples, as Becky said — although, ahem, horse apples meant something different where I come from.
Other fun names include wild orange, bois d’arc, bodark (or bowdark mainly in Oklahoma and Texas), bodart (in northwest Louisiana), bodock (mainly in Tennessee and Alabama), and bow wood, monkey brain, monkey ball, monkey orange and brain fruit.
You’re supposed to put them around the house to keep the bugs away, although some governmental agency apparently gives hedge-ball harvesters a hard time because the whole bug thing is not a scientific fact. Oh well.
I take it back about sending one in the mail. Bob was right. They’re getting pretty darn disgusting. They’re slimy, and they smell worse than they look. I’m guessing it wouldn’t be the most pleasant thing to get in the mail. Besides … ewww.
In any case, here’s some fun and amusing information about hedge balls.
