Boxelder maple is a fast-growing deciduous tree with a broad, well-rounded crown; short, frequently multi-branched trunk; and outstanding ecological and wildlife value. Although it is sometimes faulted for being short lived and having weak, brittle wood, its suckering habit forms dense thickets and helps to stabilize wet soils, especially along river banks. It grows 30-60’ tall in full or partial sun and tolerates drought, heat, and cold. It thrives in wetter areas and grows in a wide range of soils and conditions, giving it the widest range of maples native to North America.
 
Several features set boxelder apart from other maples. It has green stems that are slow to acquire bark, roundish buds, and compound leaves that resemble ash leaves with 3 to 7 leaflets (one of its common names is ash maple). The leaflets of boxelder saplings also look similar to poison ivy leaves, giving it yet another common name, poison ivy tree.
 
In addition to being a host plant for the magnificent cecropia moth and over 250 other species of Lepidoptera, boxelder provides food and shelter in a multitude of ways. Its flowers, which appear at the same time as leaf emergence in April and May, provide nectar and pollen to early-emerging native bees. The fruits, or samaras, of the female trees feed a variety of wildlife throughout fall and winter. While the trees typically live about 60 years, the early death and weak wood is advantageous for wildlife. When the top branches fall off, a cavity forms. This cavity and the decaying wood of the dead tree offer food for insects and fungi and shelter for woodpeckers, chickadees, opossums, foxes, raccoons, and other wildlife.
 
Native habitats include wet bottomlands, open disturbed woods, edges of woods, thickets, river banks, roadsides, fence rows, shallow ditches. Plant in groups to stabilize soil and prevent erosion near streams and in wet soils. Masses of boxelder provide shade and act as a screen or windbreak. Choose sites carefully; male trees tend to be less messy than females, but they both drop plant parts easily and their roots may infiltrate pipes or sewers. Boxelder bugs prefer to lay their eggs on female trees, and the bugs will enter nearby buildings.
 
Plant Characteristics:
Typically grows 30-60’ tall and wide. In ideal sites, growth may be 100.’
 
Prefers sun or part shade. Does not tolerate full shade.
 
Prefers clay and moist soils but adapts easily to acidic and alkaline, occasionally dry or wet, and well-drained soils.
 
Flowers appear April-May. Male flowers droop downward and resemble delicate green-colored tassels. Female flowers with lime-green pistils are in clusters on stalk-like, drooping structures. Paired samara fruits drop in autumn or persist on trees through winter.
 
Dark green leaves are 2-4” long and may be lobed, slightly serrated, or sharply toothed. Fall color is yellow.
 
Branches are smooth and tend to stay green. Bark on single or several trunks is pale gray or light brown, deeply fissured into broad ridges, and scaly.
 
Wildlife Value:
Host plant for 273 species of Lepidoptera, including rosy maple moth, the beggar butterfly, and Promethea silkmoth. Evening grosbeaks and other finches eat the seeds, and tanagers, warblers, and other birds forage for insects. Several bat species use the tree as a roosting site.
 
Medicinal, Edible, and Other Uses:
Some Native American tribes burned the wood as incense for making spiritual medicines. A decoction of the inner bark was used to induce vomiting.
 
The sap was used to make syrup, and some tribes used the inner bark as winter food.
 
The wood of the boxelder maple was used to make tubes for bellows and to make bowls, dishes, drums, and prayer sticks. The oldest extant wood flutes from the Americas—620 to 670 CE--were made from Acer negundo.
 
The wood has been used to produce fiberboard and turned or carved items. When the wood is injured, a red stain appears, which wood carvers use to advantage when making decorative bowls and pens.