Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Durian in Michigan?

A couple of days ago my hubby spotted these lying on the ground.

Looking up, he saw a tree filled with these mysterious fruit.


They reminded him of durian, a spiky green fruit that smells like gym socks mixed with turpentine.  Durian in Michigan?  Seemed a little strange, so I puttered around the internet.  According to this website these fruit are called Osage oranges (aka hedge apples, horse apples, monkey balls, and brainfruit).  Osage orange trees were originally planted to act like fences. Some say the fruit also repels insects and pests. 

So there you go.  Case closed.