Box elder is native to North America and has been widely planted across the world and in some areas has become naturlised. It was introduced to the UK in 1688 and is often found in public green spaces and private gardens. 
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It is a fast growing species but quite short lived with the average life span being around 70 years. The scientific name is Acer negundo but is commonly known as the Box elder. It has many other common names such as the ​boxelder maple, Manitoba maple, stinking maple, sugar ash or ash-leaved maple.
ENTIRE TREE
BARK & TRUNK
The bark is smooth and  greyish green when young and for mature trees the bark has verticial ridges / cracks. The bigger ridges will sometimes show orange markings which is similar to that of Turkey oak. It is a small to medium sized deciduous tree and will happily grow on most soil types.
CANOPY
CROWN
The twigs are typically green and quite bendy and this characteristic seems to be all year. The larger branches are often quite brittle and have a habit of drooping. Quite often Box elder will be a multi-stemmed and will look more like a large shrub. They are hardy trees and will send out suckers should the main tree fail or if it has been cut down. The suckering can be quite intense.
BRANCHES & TWIGS
LEAVES
The leaves are unique for a member of the Acer family as they are compound leaves with 3 to 5 leaflets. The shape of the leaflets are quite random, the leaflets may or may not have lobes. The leaflets are about 5–10 cm long and 3–7 cm wide and are quite smooth. The leaves have a translucent light green colour and turn yellow in the Autumn.
FLOWERS
FRUIT
Box elder is dioecious which means there are seperate male and female trees each with their own set of flowers. You are more likely to see a male tree as the flowers are more showy and there will be no fruit (samaras). The male flowers begin to show late March throughout April. Unlike some maples where the flowers don't stand out - the male flowers of Box elder are very colourful (pink) and easy to spot. The female flowers on the other hand are often mistaken as early spring leaves as they are green. The flowers are pollinated by the wind.
BUDS
GROUND LITTER
The fruit of a Box elder is a samara which is the inconic winged papery 'helictopter'. The female flowers develop into the samaras and will change from a bright green colour to a light brown colour. The samaras are dispersed by the wind. During the Autumn the ground can be covered with thousands of samaras. The leaves turn yellow and brown and are shed in late October.
OTHER USEFUL DATA
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The Biodiversity Heritage Library
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The Biodiversity Heritage Library
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The Biodiversity Heritage Library
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Brooke Bond tea (scanned from personal collection)
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Brooke Bond tea (scanned from personal collection)
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Carbon performance certificate by Treeconomics for Barcham Pro Trees
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Carbon capture data by Treeconomics for Barcham Pro Trees
OTHER USEFUL RESOURCES
QUICK FACTS
  • Box elder is native to North America and has been widely planted across the world.
  • In some areas has become naturlised.
  • It was introduced to the UK in 1688 and is often found in public green spaces and private gardens. 
  • It is a fast growing species but quite short lived with the average life span being around 70 years.
  • The scientific name is Acer negundo but is commonly known as the Box elder.
  • It has many other common names such as the ​boxelder maple, Manitoba maple, stinking maple, sugar ash or ash-leaved maple.
  • ​The bark is smooth and  greyish green when young and for mature trees the bark has verticial ridges / cracks.
  • The bigger ridges will sometimes show orange markings which is similar to that of Turkey oak.
  • It is a small to medium sized deciduous tree and will happily grow on most soil types.
  • The twigs are typically green and quite bendy and this characteristic seems to be all year.
  • The larger branches are often quite brittle and have a habit of drooping.
  • Quite often Box elder will be a multi-stemmed and will look more like a large shrub.
  • They are hardy trees and will send out suckers should the main tree fail or if it has been cut down.
  • The suckering can be quite intense.
  • ​The leaves are unique for a member of the Acer family as they are compound leaves with 3 to 5 leaflets. 
  • The shape of the leaflets are quite random, the leaflets may or may not have lobes.
  • The leaflets are about 5–10 cm long and 3–7 cm wide and are quite smooth. 
  • The leaves have a translucent light green colour and turn yellow in the Autumn.
  • Box elder is dioecious which means there are seperate male and female trees each with their own set of flowers.
  • You are more likely to see a male tree as the flowers are more showy and there will be no fruit (samaras).
  • The male flowers begin to show late March throughout April.
  • Unlike some maples where the flowers don't stand out - the male flowers of Box elder are very colourful (pink) and easy to spot.
  • The female flowers on the other hand are often mistaken as early spring leaves as they are green.
  • The flowers are pollinated by the wind.
  • ​The fruit of a Box elder is a samara which is the inconic winged papery 'helictopter'.
  • The female flowers develop into the samaras and will change from a bright green colour to a light brown colour.
  • The samaras are dispersed by the wind.
  • During the Autumn the ground can be covered with thousands of samaras.
  • The leaves turn yellow and brown and are shed in late October.
SIMILAR LOOKING TREES
FIELD MAPLE
LABURNUM
SYCAMORE
PLEASE LEAF ME ANY FEEDBACK / COMMENTS
If there is anything out of place or wrong please contact me. Equally if there is anything you wish to add please let me know. The more information we have about Box elder the better. Many thanks!