Haven't burned any yet but I hear it is wonderful stuff. I was really surprised though when one of the guys at our GTG last spring found one on our place. I did not know we had any around here.
RCBS calls is Horse Apple. I've heard it called that before. Around here we just call it Hedge. I believe the proper name is Osage Orange.
Hedge apple, horse apple are common terms here. Hardly anyone calls it osage orange. My property is also scarce of these. Old pasture fencerows seem to be the hotspot in these parts for them.
Where you from? We have all over around here. Believe most of it was planted as part of depression era shelter belt. You can find miles of them on property lines around here. Those hedge rows are a pain in the butt to harvest because these trees hang up like nothing I've ever seen. Once they hang up, a 4x4 70 horse tractor will struggle to pull em out. Unbelievably strong wood.
Yeah, horse Apple is an odd name for it. Easy to confuse it with horse chestnut. Hedge is twice the btu's per cord as horse chestnut. I haven't seen any around here, yet. I do hear there are pockets of it, and it gets more prevalent the further south you go.
Hedge is the common term for it here too. Killer firewood when I can find it. Mostly fence rows & city trees. Not sure why they planted them in town, but who cares.
Never heard them called monkey brains. My wife hates the Hedge apples. Not sure why. She wants all of them that drop fruit cut down. thats future firewood on the stump so I'll let them grow.
Lots of hedge around here, as well as mulberry. Both are great sources of BTU's on a cold day. Be careful opening the door to the stove though. It does tend to pop and spark!