Bois d’arc trees were named by French settlers, who observed native people using the wood for bows and war clubs.

A member of the mulberry family, bois d’arc tree is thought to have originated during the Oligocene epoch, approximately 30 million years ago. It is believed that the trees were distributed with the help of large herbivores, such as now-extinct sloths, mastodons, and mammoths.

I believe this half of the fruit was distributed to the concrete picnic table by a passing driver who pulled over to see what those things all over the ground were. He or she had a formidable knife if they were able to cut the thing in half: it’s as hard as a rock.

Hockley County, Texas
photographed 1.13.2024

(Thanks to this post for much useful information on this interesting tree.)