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At the Arboretum, the role of Puff the Magic Dragon is played by Osage orange trees

By adamg on Mon, 11/18/2024 - 10:30am

Science IRL explains the ginormous Osage oranges (which are not actual oranges) that litter the ground at the Arboretum, waiting, like Puff for little Jackie Paper, for woolly mammoths that will never come again:

@science_irl One of my favorite plant stories You can see Osage Oranges in all their glory at the Arnold Arboretum! Fun fact: avocados are another example of the megafaunal dispersal syndrome #planttok #plantsoftiktok #botany #plants #trees ♬ original sound - Science IRL

H/t PonderStibbons.

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Comments

By Vicki on Mon, 11/18/2024 - 11:48am.

One of the other names for that species is "horse apple," because horses also have the right kind of dentition to eat them. Horses may be one of the species the trees co-evolved with, before becoming locally extinct in North America about 10,000 years ago.

By Hillary on Mon, 11/18/2024 - 12:06pm.

I've seen "horse apples" referred to in old books before and always assumed it meant windfall apples (i.e., regular apples that fell on the ground and were consigned to horse feed).

By necturus on Mon, 11/18/2024 - 11:58am.

They look rather like green brains, and I used to wonder if that was the origin of the name "Braintree".

By cw in boston on Mon, 11/18/2024 - 12:00pm.

was the non-scientific name that I had for the fruit. One of my dogs was obsessed with them and had to bring one home from every walk.

By mg on Mon, 11/18/2024 - 12:00pm.

and your nostalgia-inducing intro to a cool explanation.