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Acer negundo L.

Boxelder, ashleaf maple, boxelder maple, Manitoba maple, California boxelder, western boxelder

KingdomPlantaePlants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
SubkingdomTracheobiontaVascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
DivisionMagnoliophytaFlowering plants, also known as angiosperms
ClassMagnoliopsidaDicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
SubclassRosidaeRoses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more
OrderSapindalesIncludes citrus; maples, horse-chestnuts, lychees and rambutans; mangos and cashews; frankincense and myrrh; mahogany and neem
FamilySapindaceaeSoapberry family
GenusAcerMaples
SpeciesnegundoName used in India, from Sanskrit nigundi

About plant names...

It is a rather bewildering fact that boxelder is considered by many to be the best known and most widespread of the native American maples. Considering, after all, that it isn't called a maple, and that many other maples are also common in North America. Oh, and that its leaves don't usually have the five-pointed iconic look of most other maples. I grew up on the Maine coast with one of these in the front yard, and never once suspected it of being a closet maple tree.

Identification: Trees are up to 69′ (21 m) high and about 26′ (8 m) around, unevenly branched, with thin, shallowly furrowed gray or light brown bark. Young branches are light green. It is a tough tree, tolerating both drought and up to 30 days of flooding. Leaves are opposite, in groups of 3-5 (rarely 7) leaflets, each 2-4″ (5-10 cm) long. Leaf shapes are variable: pointed ovals with smooth edges, or a few spikes similar to poison ivy leaves, or a more "maple-like" shape similar to red maple. The flowers are dioecious—that is, male flowers (Photo 5) occur on separate trees than female flowers and fruits (Photo 12). The fruits are winged samaras.

Edibility: Boxelder sap, though not as sugary as that of sugarmaple, is sweet enough so that it is sometimes tapped for making syrup.

Online References:

Www.carolinanature.com

The USDA Forest Service's Silvics of North America site

Plants for a Future, a resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants

The University of Connecticut Plant Database

The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Cofrin Center for Biodiversity

The Image Archive of Central Texas Plants

CalPhotos

The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences

SEINet—the Southwest Environmental Information Network

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System

References:

Sibley, David Allen, The Sibley Guide to Trees, Alfred A. Knopf, 2009, p. 346

Acer negundo (boxelder, ashleaf maple, boxelder maple, Manitoba maple, California boxelder, western boxelder)

1 · 4/4/2012 · North Central Railroad Trail, End, Phoenix, Mary­land · ≈ 4 × 6″ (10 × 15 cm)

Acer negundo (boxelder, ashleaf maple, boxelder maple, Manitoba maple, California boxelder, western boxelder)

2 · 9/1/2014 · New Mex­ico

Acer negundo (boxelder, ashleaf maple, boxelder maple, Manitoba maple, California boxelder, western boxelder)

3 · 5/4/2013 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 6 × 8″ (14 × 20 cm)

Acer negundo (boxelder, ashleaf maple, boxelder maple, Manitoba maple, California boxelder, western boxelder)

4 · 4/6/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 14 × 9″ (35 × 23 cm) ID is uncertain

Acer negundo (boxelder, ashleaf maple, boxelder maple, Manitoba maple, California boxelder, western boxelder)

5 · Male flowers. · 4/13/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 5 × 8″ (13 × 19 cm) ID is uncertain

Acer negundo (boxelder, ashleaf maple, boxelder maple, Manitoba maple, California boxelder, western boxelder)

6 · 7/19/2017 · Monongahela National Forest, Monongahela, West Vir­ginia · ≈ 1½ × 1′ (52 × 34 cm)

Acer negundo (boxelder, ashleaf maple, boxelder maple, Manitoba maple, California boxelder, western boxelder)

7 · 9/1/2014 · New Mex­ico · ≈ 1½ × 1′ (47 × 31 cm)

 

Acer negundo description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 25 May 2020.

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Acer negundo (boxelder, ashleaf maple, boxelder maple, Manitoba maple, California boxelder, western boxelder)

8 · 7/19/2017 · Monongahela National Forest, Monongahela, West Vir­ginia · ≈ 8 × 5″ (20 × 13 cm)

Acer negundo (boxelder, ashleaf maple, boxelder maple, Manitoba maple, California boxelder, western boxelder)

9 · 9/1/2014 · New Mex­ico · ≈ 2½ × 1½′ (79 × 53 cm)

Acer negundo (boxelder, ashleaf maple, boxelder maple, Manitoba maple, California boxelder, western boxelder)

10 · 7/19/2017 · Monongahela National Forest, Monongahela, West Vir­ginia · ≈ 5 × 8″ (13 × 20 cm)

Acer negundo (boxelder, ashleaf maple, boxelder maple, Manitoba maple, California boxelder, western boxelder)

11 · Female flowers and early formation of samaras. · 4/13/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 4 × 6″ (10 × 15 cm) ID is uncertain

Acer negundo (boxelder, ashleaf maple, boxelder maple, Manitoba maple, California boxelder, western boxelder)

12 · Female flowers and early formation of samaras. · 4/13/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 4½ × 7″ (11 × 17 cm) ID is uncertain

Acer negundo (boxelder, ashleaf maple, boxelder maple, Manitoba maple, California boxelder, western boxelder)

13 · 7/19/2017 · Monongahela National Forest, Monongahela, West Vir­ginia · ≈ 4½ × 7″ (12 × 18 cm)

Acer negundo (boxelder, ashleaf maple, boxelder maple, Manitoba maple, California boxelder, western boxelder)

14 · 3/20/2012 · Gunpowder Falls State Park, Phoenix Rd, Phoenix, Mary­land · ≈ 3½ × 5″ (9.2 × 13 cm)

Acer negundo (boxelder, ashleaf maple, boxelder maple, Manitoba maple, California boxelder, western boxelder)

15 · Female flowers and early formation of samaras. · 4/13/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 4½ × 7″ (11 × 17 cm) ID is uncertain

Acer negundo (boxelder, ashleaf maple, boxelder maple, Manitoba maple, California boxelder, western boxelder)

16 · 4/13/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 8 × 5″ (19 × 13 cm) ID is uncertain

Acer negundo (boxelder, ashleaf maple, boxelder maple, Manitoba maple, California boxelder, western boxelder)

17 · Male flowers. · 4/13/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Mass­a­chu­setts · ≈ 9 × 6″ (22 × 14 cm) ID is uncertain

Range: Zones 2-9:

About this map...