Boxelder (Acer negundo)

A deciduous tree from the Maple Family (Aceraceae)

Boxelder, a tree found throughout all of Ohio, frequents rural bottomlands and neglected urban areas. It is the only maple tree native to Ohio that has compound leaves. While it has little commercial usage or ornamental appeal today, its rapid life cycle still helps establish both shade and erosion control in marginally useful areas. The name Boxelder comes from its former usage in the manufacture of wooden crates, pallets, and boxes. It is native to the entire central portion of the United States and much of the eastern United States, except for the Atlantic Coast and most of New England. Mature trees (in either single-trunked or multi-trunked form) may reach 30 feet tall and 40 feet wide when found in the open, often with an irregular shape due to individual branches falling out with time. Boxelder is a member of the Maple Family, and is related to its many other species.

Planting Requirements - The adaptability of Boxelder to a wide range of soils (organic, clay, sandy, or rocky) and moisture levels (wet, moist, or dry) in both rural and neglected urban areas accounts for its widespread distribution across most of the United States and southern Canada. It is best utilized as a quick cover for sites subject to erosion (such as steep gullies or periodically flooded streambanks) or as a non-evergreen windbreak (as in fencerows or drainage ditches between agricultural fields). It grows in full sun to partial sun, from zones 3 to 9.

Potential Problems - Boxelder is plagued by many diseases (including leaf anthracnose, bark canker, and trunk heart rot) and many pests (including boxelder bug). Furthermore, leaf scorch and partial leaf drop during hot, dry summers are a common sight. In addition, unnattractive dried fruits that hang on the female trees in winter, surface roots (with age in compacted or shallow soils), and storm damage (throughout its life) are potential liabilities. Trees often have a lifespan of thirty years or less, but grow extremely fast in the first fifteen years of their life.

Leaf Identification Features

Leaves of Boxelder are opposite, pinnately compound, and usually have three leaflets on mature trees (top). Since some leaves (especially those from saplings, or watersprouts from mature trees) are composed of five or more leaflets (bottom), this tree is sometimes known as Ashleaf Maple. The bright green leaflets are coarsely toothed on their margins, and the terminal leaflet may be lobed or a fusion of three leaflets. Some leaves drop prematurely in summer, and autumn color on the remaining leaves is a poor green-yellow and often scorched brown at the edges from the summer's heat and drought.

Other Identification Features

Male (shown) and female flowers occur on separate trees of Boxelder in early spring (and therefore this species is dioecious). Both types of flowers occur before the leaves emerge and have a wispy, lime-green to yellow-green appearance.

Fruits hang in clusters from female trees of Boxelder from summer through autumn and into much of the winter. Each fruit is composed of a flattened anchoring seed attached to an elongated, thin wing. The fruits (actually paired samaras) spin like propellers when they fall from the trees in autumn and winter.

The smooth winter twigs of Boxelder are green to green-purple (sometimes with a whitish cast, or "bloom"). If this tree is regulary pruned, the more stout and vigorous shoots that arise after pruning are more noticeable during the dormant season.

The brown-gray bark of Boxelder forms interlacing ridges and furrows with increasing age. The trunk (or trunks) is rarely straight for any length, often having a leaning and twisted appearance and quickly branching into several major limbs.