Boxelder is fast growing with soft wood; its branches often split from wind and snow. Boxelder is with male flowers on one tree and female flowers on another. In late spring the ( seeds similar to a helicopter blade) develop from the female flowers ; the remain on tree until they are quite dry and uniformly light brown, well into the winter. The plant's sap can be a source of syrup, but the product is not as sweet as sugar maple syrup. Boxelder leaves, especially the young spring leaves, are very similar in shape and color to Poison Ivy leaves. Boxelders are afflicted with a number of insect infestations. "Acer" is the ancient Latin name for Maples. "Negundo" is of unknown meaning from Sanskrit and Bengali.
, multi-stemmed large shrub or small tree, 10-30' tall (occasionally to 50') with branching and leaves. Overall form, trunk often with wart-like growths and numerous ground-level sprouts. Leaves 4-10" long comprised of 3-7 , typically half as wide as long, light green above and grey-green below, coarsely and hairless. Stems green or purple, commonly glossy or white-powdered. Male and female flowers on separate plants, small and pale green: male flowers on slender stalks in loose clusters, and female flowers arranged along a separate stem. 2 hanging in long chains on slender stalks. Seeds 2-3 times as long as wide and markedly wrinkled.
Like the teeth on a saw, leaves and other surfaces can have toothed edges.
samara -- A winged seed as in Box Elders, Maples, Elms, etc.
Deciduous plants are those that lose all of their leaves for part of the year.
fruit -- any seed-bearing structure in flowering plants.
It is formed from the ovary after flowering.
In an opposite leaf arrangement the leaves come in pairs
with one leaf on each side of a stem.
Irregular flowers, such as those of the violet or the pea, are often
bilaterally symmeteric. These flowers typically have petals of unequal size or shape.
wing -- A maple seed has wings.
dioecious -- When male and female reproductive structures are on separate plants.
leaflets -- Each little leaf-like thing in a compound leaf is a leaflet.
