Bois D’arc Live Edge Slab Wood

Live Edge Slab wood made from Bois D’arc or Horse Apple Trees.

Bois D’arc is a medium-sized tree to 40 feet tall having a short trunk up to 3 feet in diameter, with many crooked, interweaving, thorny branches that form a dense, spreading crown. It has some of the hardest, most durable characteristics of any wood. Bois D’arc trees are native to East and Central Texas; it attains its largest size in the valley of the Red River in the northeast part of the state, often on clay soils. The species has been transplanted to many areas in Texas and elsewhere.

Bois D’arc Live Edge Slabs come from some of the most handsome trees in Texas.

With leaves that alternate, 3″ to 5″ long and 2″ to 3″ wide, and are ovate and pointed at the tip, even at the base; leaf margin is smooth, and the top surface is glossy, dark green, lighter green underneath, and turning a clear yellow in the fall. The twigs are armed with stout, straight thorns and produce a sticky, milky sap when broken.

Horse Apple Live Edge Slab Wood comes from the name for the fruit on the Bois D’arc tree.

A large, spherical, green fruit, which is an aggregate of many small seeds, ranging from 4″ to 5″ in diameter, resembling a green, wrinkled orange. Common names for the fruit are “horse apple” and “hedge apple.” They are unedible but some say they repel insects. The bark is thin, brown to orange, divided into strips or flakes on older trunks. The bark contains tannins and is used occasionally for tanning leather.

Bois D’Arc Wood – well, where to begin? You do not get named after the native american’s use of your wood for making bows due to your strength and ability to spring back to shape without some strong natural abilities. The wood is heavy, exceedingly hard, and very durable in contact with the soil. The heartwood is bright orange, turning brown upon exposure to the air. It was largely used for fenceposts.

East Texas Bois D’arc has a rich history.

The common name, “bois d’arc” is French for “bow-wood,” a reference to the use by Native Americans for bows and war clubs. This species was also widely distributed and planted to make hedgerows and livestock pens prior to the invention of barbed wire. Sapling bois d’arcs have sharp thorns. The bois d’arc is best known for the durability and attractiveness of its very hard wood. The annual growth rings in the heart wood of freshly sawn bois d’arc are dark brown and lined with lemon yellow. Newer rings in the sap wood are light brown lined with ivory.

The hardness of bois d’arc made it popular with wheelwrights for use in the spokes and hubs of wagon wheels. Bois d’arc was also used to make bridge timbers, foundation piers for houses and for paving blocks. Native Texans prized the extremely hard wood of the bois d’arc for making bows. A bow made of bois d’arc wood took a long time to make and a lot of strength to pull, but the wood was resilient enough to spring back and launch an arrow far afield without breaking. Perhaps the most widespread historical use of the bois d’arc was in impenetrable hedges for farms. The thorny hedges retained livestock while keeping predators away.