Box elder Acer negundo

Features

Box elder is a fast-growing, short-lived tree with opposite, compound leaves. It is sometimes considered a weedy or invasive species. Acer negundo grows up to 10–25 m tall, with a trunk diameter of 30–50 cm, rarely up to 1 m diameter.

Species	Trees (Macrofanerophytes)
Living space	Treeline
Size	10-25 m

Specialty habitat

Description

The shoots are green, often with a whitish to pink or violet waxy coating when young. Branches are smooth, somewhat brittle, and tend to retain a fresh green color rather than forming a bark of dead, protective tissue. The bark on its trunks is pale gray or light brown, deeply cleft into broad ridges, and scaly. Unlike most other maples (which usually have simple, palmately lobed leaves), Acer negundo has pinnately compound leaves that usually have three to seven leaflets. Simple leaves are also occasionally present; technically, these are single-leaflet compound leaves. Although some other maples (such as Acer griseum, Acer mandshuricum and the closely related A. cissifolium) have trifoliate leaves, only A. negundo regularly displays more than three leaflets.