Janzen and Martin (1982) hypothesized that extinct North American
megabeasts, such as giant ground sloth, mastodon, camel or
Gomphotheres (elephant ancestor), were seed dispersers of osage orange
(Maclura pomifera) and other North American plants with anachronistic
characteristics such as the large thorns and pods of honeylocust
(Gleditsia triacanthos).

However, small mammals, such as squirrels and possums, also tear open
the fruits and disperse the seeds. Horses sometimes eat the fruit,
hence the common name horse apple. Thus, extinct North American
ancestors of horses may have once helped disperse them. Another idea
is that horses trampled the fruits and the seeds were dispersed by
sticking to their hooves. Burton says birds also eat the seeds and
another website mentions turkeys can scratch open the fruits and eat
the seeds. Possibly, the extinct passenger pigeon was involved in seed
dispersal as well.

Certainly, people dispersed osage orange over most of the continental
USA from its limited natural range because of its use as "living
barbed wire" and its valuable decay-resistant wood that is
particularly valued for making bows. Today, children still like to
throw the fruits around so they provide some dispersal. Martha Stewart
even recommends the fruit as decorations. Fresh fruits are used as an
insect repellant. Male trees make nice disease resistant small trees.

References

Osage orange fruit dispersal:
http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osage_orange

Osage orange dispersal by small mammals:
http://www.ontarioprofessionals.com/botaniq.htm#conta

Horse dispersal:
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=os...rea.edu&rnum=1

Osage-orange by J.D. Burton:
http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/si...a/pomifera.htm

Turkeys eat osage orange seeds:
http://www.noble.org/imagegallery/wo...ageOrange.html

http://www.hedgeapple.com/

Dirr, Michael A. 1983. Manual of Woody Landscape Plants. Champaign,
IL: Stipes.

Janzen, Daniel H., and Martin, Paul S. 1982. Neotropical anachronisms:
The fruits Gomphotheres ate. Science. 215, 19-27.


David R. Hershey




----- Original Message -----
From: Monique Reed
Newsgroups: sci.bio.botany
Sent: Friday, October 18, 2002 5:13 PM
Subject: squash dispersal


Now, what was the original dispersal agent of Maclura pomifera (osage
orange, bois d'arc) fruits? That's what I'd like to know! That is a
lot of energy for a plant to expend, making that horrendous,
foul-sapped fruit that's too heavy for nearly anything to carry away.
Was there some giant ground sloth or woolly rhino that relished the
things whole?

M. Reed