In my south pasture. It had about 30 Hackberries under its' canopy. I cut those down, hauled off, sprayed the stumps, and cut a few libs of the old great grandad of a Bois D' Arc. I am going to submit it to the Big Tree Registry of Texas. I think it will knock out the third place tree. Still gotta measure everything. It is a male, no horse apples. About 40 yards east of him is a female that is quite large as well.



A 6 foot t-post for reference...







I am no expert on aging. I have cut some 12-14" Bois d' arc that had over 60 rings. Maybe thus one is 200+ years old? He is sitting right next to a little natural ditch line in the pasture. Lots of acres of grassland drain right toward this tree. So he gets big gulps of water most of the year. Obviously sitting next to a natural pool as well.

That's a big one.. We have a 1/2 mile run of those in a perfect line. They used them as an old boundary line on our place. As good as a barb wire fence still. The actual fence is a few hundred yards away so guess the boundaries changed a hundred years back.. Some are huge too.

edit : been 30+ years or so maybe longer.
Twas on lease or WMA
(like an old mountain man, always wondering looking for whats around the next bend)
came across an old tree, cant remember what type.
but huge, @ least two people, if not three ta put arms around...
Also behind our house twas a gaint sweet gum tree
@ lrast two@ 1/2 if not 3 people ta go around it...
Always fasinayted by the size/age of some of the trees.
Always wanted ta see the Sequia & Red woods trees...
Maybe some day...
Thanks for shareing...

I found a website a few years ago that asked for measurements and type of tree

There’s a pecan tree in my front pasture that’s a monster.

I want to say it gave me an approximate age of around 300 years old

I had to estimate the height of course

Not sure how accurate that site is but there’s one out there

Doing some reading this morning:

"Once discovered by early European settlers, it was haphazardly carried and tended across the continent. Between 1855 and 1875 there was an agricultural hedge program to plant the species. Because of its attributes, it was prized anywhere agriculture, teamsters, and grazing animals were found. It is now considered escaped from cultivation and has naturalized in many areas."

"The first planted uses were for animal corrals, and field hedges for wind breaks, shelter belts, and living fences. The dense, scrubby growth, tough wood, and short, sharp thorns altogether proved effective in controlling domestic grazing animals before barbed wire fence. It has been suggested barbed wire was inspired by the spiny Osage Orange shoots."

"Osage orange is the densest and most decay resistant wood in North America."

"Fence posts cut and immediately installed without bark removal can occasionally sprout and regenerate a root system."

"Osage orange is not attacked by subterranean termites."

Is that mistletoe all up in the top of that bad boy?

That is a huge tree. Can you tell if it was two trees that were close together when they started to grow and over time grew into one? Either way it still is an impressive tree and very old no doubt.

Horse Apple.

Walking all the way around it, I looked for that. It appears to be one trunk.

It's the biggest one I have ever seen in person. And it's mine.

Nice one

I see lots of bows in them limbs

Wouldn’t mind a broken limb or 2 off that

I have bois d' arcs all over the property. I would love for a bow maker to get a branch and make a bow.

I watched a couple YouTube vids. Hold my beer

If anyone can, it’s Jeremy.

I’ll even call it a Japanese longbow!

yall smoke bois d arc root?

asking for Bill

Long ago, my family settled in north Texas, and my Great Great Grandfather made a lot of money from the Bois D’arc trade. This tree has quite the history:

“By 1869, around 60,000 miles of Osage orange hedges had been planted in the Midwest and South. Some consider Osage orange to be as important as the railroad, steel plow, and windmill for the settlement of the Midwest by Europeans, according to Michael Ferro, a researcher at Clemson University who wrote a scientific paper about the biology and history of the tree.”

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/hedge-apple-osage-orange-ghost-of-evolution

Quote is from this article that has quite a bit more history. I used fake email to read it.

That is one awesome tree!

That ‘Bodock’ is way bigger than mine. They seemed more common back where I grew up in NE Louisiana, and were often found in long lines with tangled low level limbs, so I suppose were used as fence. There was such a line along one side of a pasture my family owned. That line borders some property of an old Plantation home (relatives own it) built in about 1854. The Yankees didn’t burn that house, and legend says (family legend) that it was because the Yankee cavalry officer was in love with the lady of the house. The owners buried all the silver so that the Yankees wouldn’t steal it, and legend has it that they never found the silver after the war.

That’s a bit off topic, but I thought you might find it interesting.

If you are going to cut limbs, do it in the winter. When the sap is running in the Springtime, it’s a messy sticky mess, and the sap will stain. Ask how I know…

If you want to start your own fence, dig a small trench (inch or two wide, and 2 inches deep), mush up some semi rotten horse apples into a sort of soupy mixture, pour it in the trench and put dirt over it. I don’t know how long it takes to grow into a useable fence.

Very impressive! I have measured a few of the trees currently on the Registry. I love old trees and history they could tell if they could talk.

I would be curious of the condition of the current 3rd place tree, since its been over 20 years since the last measurement. Crown spread weighs heavy on the points, which puts you at a disadvantage since it was crowded by hackberries and not allowed to spread out as much as say, the state champion over in De Kalb.

Keep us posted on the results. It may take a few months for a forester to contact you.

I had to try it out.

This one is a white oak (post oak)

It measured 9 foot around

108 inches divided by 3.14(pi) times 5 (growth rate)

This tree shows to be 171 years old

I’m not sure what the growth rate on yours is

Ive got a bois'd arc tree on the south end of my place, now I wanna go and measure it

Its about half the size of the one you posted

Here's our bois darc fence.

I used a growth rate of 3, assuming they are much faster growers than oaks

If that’s calculation is even right, this one shows to be 99 years old

Seems like I got 13' circumference when I measured three years ago.

What's the math to estimate the age?

156 inches divided by 3.14 times 3

which shows 149 years old

Now if the growth rate is a 4 and it could be, it would be 198 years old

A good bet would be somewhere between 150-200 years old I guess

There is one in Nacogdoches County in a residential front yard...that would be pretty close to what you have. That is a big one for sure.

I have a Water Oak that is almost 18' in circumference and isn't as big as one that blew down a few years ago.

Thank you

I had no idea they kept tree size records. That’s pretty cool. Some of my old hunting spots in western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma had some big bois d’arc trees, but I never thought to measure them. My brothers and I hucked hundreds of the apples at each other back in the day.

I'm wondering how many chainsaw chains it would take to cut it up. They can be pretty hard.

My in laws have one about that size in their backyard. I’ll take a pic and a measurement next time I’m over there.

Green bois d' arc is nothing to worry about. I have used my pole saw on a whole lot of branches, and cut down some much smaller trees the last few weeks. It's the dried out stuff that will literally make a chain throw sparks.

That’s a big tree and it may beat the third largest registered tree but their are a bunch of Bois D’ Arcs that size and bigger around this part of Texas. Most of them are in the bottoms around creeks and in low lying flood plains out of sight and out of mind. Those sized trees give an excavator and D9 a workout but we’ve removed a good many that size over the years. Once they get that big their actually pretty trees with the lower canopy trimmed up, you got that one looking good

Procraft05, you should untie that rope from your tree, bare handed and swing it all over the place

Sat backed up against one many times dove hunting my grandmas farm down by the creek, good times. Spent a lot of 22 ammo shooting the apples too. Cool trees takes me back in time, thanks for sharing.

I’m not sure how much I believe the tree age estimators. The house I grew up in had 3 big oaks in the front yard. Over 30 years have passed since then and the trees still look the same. That said 200 years is a lot longer than 30 lol.

Grandma has a native pecan tree in her back yard that was estimated to be 300 plus years old when she bought it some time in the 60’s I think.

Yep, sure looks like it. Mistletoe will kill it too if it overcomes it. May want to trim some of those branches up top. About to have to do the same thing with some of my cedar elms

Really?

Seen mistletoe in trees all my life. Same trees are still fine.

How’s that new skiddy working out? Looks like your putting it to work

I have put 50 hours on it already.

Been clearing off brush, like there us no tomorrow. Borrowed this shredder from a buddy.



Got both chainsaws in the Mule, and the pole saw. Been cutting down lots of honey Locust, ash, and Hackberry. Limbing the big trees, and taking all that to three brush piles. Taking back over ground that previous land owners make worthless, and it got overrun with brush. I am turning it back into grass, which makes hay, which means more money off the whole place. Those brush piles will probably be hot for a month, after I light them off. So while I was rigged up doing all this clearing, I made some room for this grandad of a bois d' arc. Dry ground in winter is a rare gift, and I am taking full advantage.

Takes a huge infestation to kill a tree. Possible of course, but your tree is nothing to worry about.

I agree with you this has been an odd dry winter so we’ve been rolling in a river bottom as well clearing 240 acres, I’m proud you’ve been getting to put that machine to work!! I’ve got a couple 85” Vail X series cutters if you ever need to use one. I bought a new Intimidator tree/post puller a couple months ago that I’ve been pleased with as well you can use if you need to. Skiddy attachments these days have gotten stupid expensive but they sure get the job done in short order. If I get any down time I can run a mulcher over one day and blast some stuff. Will destroy trees for beer

Mistletoe CAN kill a tree if it is stressed and weakened, but it wont ALWAYS kill a tree.

I forgot to add you need to blow that puppy down a couple times a day minimum running the brush cutter, those clippings getting in the motor compartment will burn down your Kubota in short order. I’ve watched 2 Kubkotas burn up in the last 6 months from them not being blown out properly. We burned down a new CAT last month from the same thing but those allow a lot more stuff to get in, thr great machines but you have to be more vigilant on blowing them out to keep them from getting Smokey lol

Thats a big azz tree, thank goodness it is a male Use to get into a little trouble with those nasty horse apples

Yeah, skid steer attachments have got so high I will be renting a post driver to build some braces. No way am I going to buy one. I will blow out the machine before it gets back to work. Thanks for sharing. I have not blown it out one time in these last 50 hours. I didn't know what I didn't know. I won't let it happen again.

Ordered all the filters in a kit, except for the dang oil filter. Kind of waiting on the rain to set in, to do a full service in the shop. But I dang sure will clean out the dust. Might as well blow out the air filters and radiator while I'm at it.

If I can get a bud that knows how to operate a skid steer to come out for 20 minutes, I can have him lift me up. I have a man basket that goes onto the pallet forks. 4' X 6' and with a handrail. It has been invaluable during my two big construction projects. Grab the pole saw and have him lift me up in the basket. Make short order of that mistletoe.

I’ve got a post driver you can use but it’s up outsideTulsa at the moment on a job site but it should be back down here before to long once we finish that job and you can use it. Shoot me a text when you get ready for one and I’ll see where mines at,

I think you are supposed to cut the branch a few inches below the mistletoe.

Wait, there are male & female trees?

Or did you just assume it's gender?

That big a wood and you don’t know it’s a boy skinner?

I dunno brah, there some big ol' females that look like males these days.......

that is a big boy, biggest bois d'arc I've ever seen.

would be good to rid it of the parasites.

That reminds me, how is the new girlfriend?



Sorry dude, you set that one up….

Yes sir the females have the fruit aka horse apples, the males do not. The males generally have a higher canopy where the females like to grow their branches lower to the ground but this isn’t always the case depending on the surrounding trees and the struggle for sunlight.

Ah, thank you. I learned something.

Several nearby 4-8" ash trees to the south. I think I will take those out as well.

Straight trunks, almost no canopy. Top them off and buck them for firewood. Haul the crows to the brush pile. Won't take very long. Because I have a 20" X 36" wood burning stove in the shop, I can burn pretty much any wood I want. And I do burn bois d' arc when it is really cold.

Highest producing BTU wood in North America.

Those trees give me nightmares.

My California neighbor cut one down. I told him not to burn it in the fireplace because it smelled like Cat pee. 6 months later he said he burned some in his outdoor fire ring. His whole family was complaining about the smell and I just gave him the " I told you so" smile.

I love their toughness, and their reputation. If a tree could be ornery, the Bois D' Arc is it.

They are great in an enclosed wood burning stove, and make serious heat! That are not good in an open fireplace. They pop fireworks out onto the floor.

Taco Casa cut down the one I grew up around in Rhome. They ruined the view of the sunset on the horizon too. I’ll never eat at the Rhome location

Had to dig but found pics of the biggest tree I have ever been next to. While visiting our daughter at college in Orange, Ca I came upon this big Fig.

WOW!

That's one big Figging Tree

X2

That is impressive!

Here is one that just got crowned as a champion in Upshur County. It is a Cherrybark Oak. Im 6'5" 260lbs for a size reference.

WOW again!

My pic #1, all those ash, and a couple willows, they gone!

They were south of the bois d' arc, and the bois d' arc canopy was trying to reach out where they were. Some are firewood now...

All these trees are inspiring me. If I get home before dark tomorrow I want to measure a live oak we got. No record breaker but it’s a hell of a tree, probably 4-5 foot in diameter.

The Live Oak tree in Columbus Texas is the second largest in the state. That town has a lot of huge Live Oaks also. I've walked close to this Live Oak and pictures do not do it justice.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attract...st_Live_Oak_in_Texas-Columbus_Texas.html
http://www.texasescapes.com/TexasHistory/TexasHistoricTrees/Columbus-Oak.htm

I was wondering about the age too; I found this one that says it's 150 years old for somewhat of a comparison... https://www.flickr.com/photos/62501323@N08/32081144737/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/62501323@N08/32081144737/

Had to copy and paste, but I got there. That one has a trunk much larger. Looks like little height though.

Now...THAT'S a big tree.....wow.

Update.
Went and measure it this morning.

4'6" off the ground.

53' High, 171" Circumference, 58' spread

Won't un-seat the third place tree. But still a biggun!

So I saw this Pecan Tree today. I'll put it here just for reference.

cool pic