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Boxelder
Common
Name(s):
Boxelder
Ashleaf Maple
Scientific
Name:
Acer
negundo L.
Scientific
Name Synonyms:
None known
Symbol:
ACNE2
Description:
Life Span: Perennial
Origin:
Native
Season: Deciduous
Growth Characteristics:
A
medium-sized tree with an irregular form, averaging 45 feet in height
and about 24 inches in diameter. The crown is very dense, broad,
and rounded, usually extending from the ground up. It flowers March
to May and reproduces from seed and root sprouting.
Flowers/Inflorescence:
Yellow-green
flowers appear in dense clusters with the leaves in early spring.
They are small, ¼ inch in diameter. The male and female flowers
are separate. The male flowers are on slender stalks in loose clusters.
The female flowers are arranged along a separate stem.
Fruits/Seeds:
Fruits are paired samaras hanging in clusters. Each seed pair is
about 1 ½ inches long. They hang in long chains on slender
stalks, mature in autumn, and remain on the tree well into the winter.
Leaves: Appear
in opposite pairs; about 6 inches long, each divided into 3 to 7
leaflets that are along the central leaf stalk. Boxelder is the
only member of the maple family that has divided leaves. Each leaftlet
is coarsely toothed to lobed and about 3 inches long. The leaf color
is dull green through the summer, turning yellow as they drop in
the fall. Buds are nearly ¼ inch long and hairy.
Stems: Twigs
light green to purplish brown, usually with velvety white hairs,
but sometimes hairless. Trunk bark is yellow brown to light gray
and smooth, furrowed with narrow ridges, becoming darker with age.
Scars left by winter buds encircle the twigs, meeting in raised
points on opposite sides of the twigs. Buds are white hairy with
blunt tips.
Ecological
Adaptations:
The
form of boxelder found in Utah is a variety of the species that
is widely distributed throughout the United States. Boxelder is
common on moist sites along lakes and streams, on floodplains, and
in low-lying wet places where its shallow root system can find abundant
moisture. It is found mostly between 4,000 and 8,000-foot elevations.
It is drought tolerant once established, and can also withstand
short periods of flooding.
Soils: Boxelder
can tolerate a wide variety of soils, but shows a strong preference
for well-drained, moist soils, usually with a medium to rocky texture.
Associated Species:
Willow,
narrowleaf cottonwood, aspen, chokecherry.
Uses and
Management:
Boxelder
provides ground cover, streambank protection, and shade for livestock
and recreation areas in lower portions of Utah canyons.
Boxelder is a rapidly growing tree, resulting in weak and brittle
wood at maturity. The wood has been used as a source of fuel, and
small amounts may have been used for poles and rough lumber. In
other parts of the country, wood of this species is utilized in
the furniture industry where low quality wood is adequate.
Boxelder is easily injured by heart rot, fire, and insects. It is
often infested with boxelder bugs, which feed on the tree, but rarely
kill it.
The burls and knots on the lower trunk are fine grained, and were
used by Native Americans for bowls, dishes, pipestems, and drums.
The inner bark was boiled into a tea that was used as an emetic.
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