关于这棵长着“大脑”的树的真相让小孩子感到害怕

There was a tree on our farm just along the edge of a country road that grew brains.

我们农场里有一棵树，就在一条乡间小路的边上，长着许多脑髓。

The Osage orange goes by many names, including green brain, monkey ball and horse apple. (Photo: JIANG TIANMU/Shutterstock)

My dad got it into his own brain to build a rickety fort in that weird, old tree. Everything he built was just a little rickety. But the tree was strong. And you eventually got used to the view of brains hanging from branches, and others scrambled and rotting on the ground below.

我爸爸想在那棵奇怪的老树上建一个摇摇欲坠的堡垒。他做的所有东西都有点摇摇欲坠。但是树很强壮。你最终习惯了挂在树枝上的大脑，其他人在下面的地上爬来爬去。

It's an Osage orange tree, otherwise known as a bodark.

这是一棵奥色治橘子树，也叫博达克树。

Interestingly, one of the fruit's aliases is "green brains."

有趣的是，这种水果的别名之一是“绿色大脑”。

What does it taste like, you ask? I don't know. It's not going anywhere near my mouth.

你会问它是什么味道?我不知道。它不会靠近我的嘴。

Bugs may feel the same way, as monkey balls have gained a reputation as a natural insecticide. Squirrels, however, seem to really enjoy them. But squirrels are weird in a lot of ways.

臭虫可能也有同样的感觉，因为猴球已经获得了天然杀虫剂的声誉。然而，松鼠似乎真的很喜欢它们。但是松鼠在很多方面都很奇怪。

Eating a green brain may be possible. But it takes a little work — and plenty of courage. (Photo: Africa Studio/Shutterstock)

Traditionally, Arkansas is the heart of bodark-ness, with the trees flourishing in almost every county. But they're also common in many states, including Texas and Oklahoma. The tallest Osage orange tree on record, an ancient specimen in Red Hill, Pennsylvania, reaches some 65 feet.

传统上，阿肯色州是黑人聚居区的中心，几乎每个县都树木繁茂。但它们在许多州也很常见，包括德克萨斯州和俄克拉荷马州。有记录以来最高的奥色治橘子树是宾夕法尼亚州红山的一棵古树，高达65英尺。

The bodark even grows in parts of Canada. Notably, in front of the big, scary house in Effingham, Ontario, where I grew up.

博达克甚至生长在加拿大的部分地区。值得一提的是，在我长大的安大略省艾芬厄姆的那座巨大而又可怕的房子前面。

But the tree itself is much more than the sum of its fruit.

但这棵树本身比它果实的总和要多得多。

It's named for its legendary strength. Bodark comes from the French "bois d'arc" which means "wood of the bow." The Osage Indians of the American Southwest used to rely on its limber, using the tough branches to craft their bows.

它因其传说中的力量而得名。博达克来自法语“bois d’arc”，意思是“弓的木头”。美国西南部的奥色治印第安人过去依靠它的柔软的枝干来制作弓。

The spikes from an Osage orange tree, or bodark, are strong enough to puncture ties. (Photo: arthurgphotography/Shutterstock)

During the American Civil War, soldiers built barricades from its thorny branches. And farmers today still use its sturdy, decay-resistant branches for fences.

在美国内战期间，士兵们用带刺的树枝搭建路障。时至今日，农民们仍然用它强健、抗腐的枝干来筑篱笆。

As Texas rancher Delbert Trew notes, "A well cured bodark post can last for over 100 years unless destroyed by prairie fire."

正如德克萨斯州农场主德尔伯特·特鲁所言:“除非被草原大火烧毁，否则经过良好处理的博达克山岗可以保存100多年。”

Maybe my dad somehow figured that out when he built a fort for me in a bodark — as a counterbalance to his shaky construction skills. And also, maybe I would have prized that old brain tree more had I known of its fortress-like qualities.

也许我的父亲是在他为我在丛林中建造堡垒的时候发现了这一点——作为对他摇摇欲坠的建造技能的一种平衡。而且，如果我知道那棵古老的智慧之树堡垒般的品质，也许我会更加珍视它。

No ghost could get to 6-year-old me when I was in the sheltering embrace of the old bodark tree.

当我躲在那棵老黑树的怀抱里时，没有任何鬼魂能够接近6岁的我。