Boxelder
Acer negundo L.
Mature Size: 30 to 60 feet in height and 1 to 2½ feet in diameter.
Form: Short trunk, often multi-stemmed with sprouts along trunk.
Habitat: Common in river bottoms, but tolerates a wide range of soils.
Leaves
Opposite, pinnately compound with 3 to 7 leaflets, light green; leaflets are 2 to 4 inches long, coarsely toothed, and may have one or two lobes; the 3-leaflet form resembles poison ivy.
Flowers
V-shaped, 2-winged, 1 to 1½ inches long, in drooping clusters, spinning like helicopter propellers as they fall.
Fruit
Prickly burr, 1 to 1½ inches across, containing a shiny, dark brown, sweet nut.
Bark
Light brown to gray, with rounded, interlacing ridges; may be warty on young trees.
Twigs
Green to purplish green, moderately thick, leaf scars narrow, meeting in raised points, often covered with a waxy bloom; buds white and hairy.
Values and Uses
The wood is used occasionally for paper pulp. Birds and small mammals eat the seeds, which are larger than most maple seeds and mature later, making them available into the winter. The sap is sometimes used to make syrup. Boxelder is drought tolerant and has been planted for windbreaks and erosion control.
Did You Know?
The common name comes from the wood's resemblance to that of the box shrub and the resemblance of the leaves to those of elderberry.
