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Boxelder
(Acer negundo)
Boxelder is a native deciduous tree in the maple family and has the widest range of them all. In the Carolinas, it can be found from the upper coastal plains to the piedmont and into the mountain regions. Unlike most maples, Boxelder is dioecious, meaning there are both male and female trees. Also unlike other maples, Boxelder leaves are pinnately compound (similar to Ash) having 3 to 5 to sometimes 7 leaflets.
It prefers moist locations, often found along waterways, flood plains and woodlands. It is well suited for reforesting degraded areas especially along streams and lakes. It's an excellent choice for rain gardens and pollinator habitats as well as bird sanctuaries.
Boxelder is a wildlife-friendly wetland/woodland tree offering soft bright green leaflets in the summer and buttery yellow to flame-like autumn foliage. Although it is not typically desired within a homeowner's lawn or landscape, it is a crucially important tree within a thriving woodland ecosystem. Because Boxelder sheds its leaves and seeds long into the winter months, it provides food for wildlife when nutrition is otherwise scarce and, as the leaves decompose, they contribute organic nutrients required for healthy woodland soils. Boxelder also accommodates hundreds of species of moths and butterflies who depend on the Boxelder during their caterpillar stage and, where there are caterpillars, there are beautiful moths and butterflies! Although homeowners could do without the Boxelder Bugs that feed on the tree, various birds love them: Carolina Chickadees, Purple Martins, Nuthatches, Cardinals, European Starlings, Woodpeckers and more!
Boxelder is a fast-growing tree but its light, close-grained soft wood is weak and somewhat brittle and can be severely damaged in high winds. The wood has little commercial timber value other than use as pulp or fiber.
Important Considerations:
***TOXIC TO HORSES***
Do not plant near paddocks or pastures. A protoxin of the seed (hypoglycin A) has been associated with the fatal equine muscle disease, Seasonal Pasture Myopathy.
Young trees and new growth are vulnerable to deer grazing.
For more information regarding common diseases and pests of Boxelder trees visit Clemson Cooperative Extension's Home and Garden Information Center.
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Conditions
Light:
Full, bright sun or very slight shade
Does not tolerate full shade
Soils:
Loam, Sand, Clay
Ideal pH of 6.5 to 7.5.
Very Moist with Good Drainage.
Tolerance:
Temporary drought
Temporary/Occasional flooding
Growth
Expect a Boxelder to grow rapidly in an irregular, rounded form and have a lifespan of 60 to 75 years.
Typical mature height ranges greatly from 30’ tall to 50’ tall with a spread somewhat equal to its height and a trunk diameter of 1 to 2 feet.
Production Note:
Boxelder is dioecious; pollination and fruit/seed production requires both a male and female tree.
Manufacturer's Specs
Carbon Storage Characteristics:
- Rapid growth
- Reaches maturity quickly
- Smaller trunk size
- Shorter lifespan
- Brittle wood
- Ongoing, fallen, rotting biomass releases stored carbon earlier and more rapidly than other hardwood trees.
- Not a notable carbon sink.
Carbon Storage:
- Low
Pollution/Dust Interception:
- Moderate
Tropospheric Ozone Tolerance:
- Low
Flood/Stormwater Abatement:
- Average to High
Oxygen Yield:
- Low