關(guān)于這棵長著“大腦”的樹的真相讓小孩子感到害怕

關(guān)于這棵長著“大腦”的樹的真相讓小孩子感到害怕

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

我們農(nóng)場里有一棵樹，就在一條鄉(xiāng)間小路的邊上，長著許多腦髓。

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樹上建一個搖搖欲墜的堡壘。他做的所有東西都有點(diǎn)搖搖欲墜。但是樹很強(qiáng)壯。你最終習(xí)慣了掛在樹枝上的大腦，其他人在下面的地上爬來爬去。

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

這是一棵奧色治橘子樹，也叫博達(dá)克樹。

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

有趣的是，這種水果的別名之一是“綠色大腦”。

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

你會問它是什么味道?我不知道。它不會靠近我的嘴。

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.

臭蟲可能也有同樣的感覺，因?yàn)楹锴蛞呀?jīng)獲得了天然殺蟲劑的聲譽(yù)。然而，松鼠似乎真的很喜歡它們。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.

傳統(tǒng)上，阿肯色州是黑人聚居區(qū)的中心，幾乎每個縣都樹木繁茂。但它們在許多州也很常見，包括德克薩斯州和俄克拉荷馬州。有記錄以來最高的奧色治橘子樹是賓夕法尼亞州紅山的一棵古樹，高達(dá)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.

博達(dá)克甚至生長在加拿大的部分地區(qū)。值得一提的是，在我長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.

但這棵樹本身比它果實(shí)的總和要多得多。

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.

它因其傳說中的力量而得名。博達(dá)克來自法語“bois d’arc”，意思是“弓的木頭”。美國西南部的奧色治印第安人過去依靠它的柔軟的枝干來制作弓。

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.

在美國內(nèi)戰(zhàn)期間，士兵們用帶刺的樹枝搭建路障。時至今日，農(nóng)民們?nèi)匀挥盟鼜?qiáng)健、抗腐的枝干來筑籬笆。

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

正如德克薩斯州農(nóng)場主德爾伯特·特魯所言:“除非被草原大火燒毀，否則經(jīng)過良好處理的博達(dá)克山崗可以保存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.

也許我的父親是在他為我在叢林中建造堡壘的時候發(fā)現(xiàn)了這一點(diǎn)——作為對他搖搖欲墜的建造技能的一種平衡。而且，如果我知道那棵古老的智慧之樹堡壘般的品質(zhì)，也許我會更加珍視它。

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

當(dāng)我躲在那棵老黑樹的懷抱里時，沒有任何鬼魂能夠接近6歲的我。