My understanding has always been that deer don't care for these. A friend of mine made a comment the other day that suggested they did. I've always attributed evidence of something eating hedgeapples to squirrels or some other rodents, but perhaps I am mistaken.

I'm not sure if hedge apples are what I call hedge balls? If they are I'm not sure on deer, but cattle will sometimes eat them. There is a thorn inside them, which will get stuck in a cows throat sometimes so thats how I know some cattle are stupid enough to eat them

Deer definitely eat them. If you are talking about these:


I have always heard these are one of the last things they eat when other food sources are scarce. When I go out shed hunting I have a few places where I know there are these type trees and I always find more sign there than anywhere else in the entire area. I always find multiple smashed hedge apples and it sure looks like they are feeding on them.

I saw them for the fist time in southern Ohio near the KY border on a trip 2 years ago. I couldn't imagine what they were and now I know. Thanks. Pretty stange looking plant. Looked to me like a pile of oversized tennis balls laying in the woods.

That's exactly what they are.

Thanks for the responses.

These are an interesting fruit. We have them around where i grew up. We never saw the deer eating them but I guess anything is possible with deer and things to eat. I once read where a hungry buck in the spring would kick the first run suckers out of the brook and eat them. We used them as ammo during our army games as kid and you always knew if someone got hit with one due to the specially patterned imprint it left on their face for a while. One of the most interesting things about this fruit is that it comes from the Bow wood tree. The limbs have a distinct bow in them and the native Americans used these limbs to make their bows. It is a very strong and pliable wood.

Deer will eat these, but usually as a last food resort in late winter with snow on the ground. Take a good snow thats been on the snow 3-4 days and the deer will flock to a hedge row looking for these.

Where I grew up, we always called them Monkey Balls.

The only thing I have seen eat hedge apples are squirrels. I think there are seeds on the inside. I have hunted deer among the hedge apples but never seen a deer eat one. I think it would be only as a last resort.

Was out shed hunting today...and found tons of sign around the hedge apple trees...and kicked up some deer...