Box elder (female) - tree - September 2018
===General information=== Box elder is a species of maple that belongs to the soapberry family. It originates from North America, but it can be found in Europe, China and Australia today. Box elder prefers moist areas and it usually grows in the wastelands, valleys, floodplains and areas near the rivers and streams. It tolerates cold weather, drought and floods and it easily spreads in the urban areas. People cultivate box elder mostly for ornamental purposes. Box elder has a short trunk and bushy crown. It can reach 50 to 75 feet in height and 4 feet in diameter (trunk). Young box elder is covered with light brown, smooth bark. A Mature tree has dark brown bark covered with deep ridges and furrows. Box elder easily splits during storms because of its thin bark that cannot provide protection of soft, inner wood. Box elder has smooth, purple or shiny green twigs. They are covered with a protective layer of wax and oval-shaped openings that facilitate exchange of gases with the atmosphere. Box elder has pinnate leaves composed of 3 to 7, oval or elliptic leaflets with irregularly notched edges. Leaves are green, darker on the upper side. Box elder is the only species of maple that has compound leaves (other species of maple have palmate leaves). Box elder produces small, yellow-green flowers. Male and female flowers develop on the separate trees (dioecious plant). Male flowers are arranged in small, hairy bundles. Female flowers are arranged in narrow, drooping clusters. Box elder blooms early in the spring, usually during the April. The flowers are designed for the pollination by wind. The fruit of box elder is yellowish or reddish-brown samara organised in V-shaped pairs. Each fruit consists of a seed and wing which facilitates dispersal by wind. Box elder ripens from August to October. Fruit stays on the tree throughout the winter. Box elder serves as an important source of food for the wildlife. Birds and squirrels like to eat the seed of box elder. Native Americans used sap of box elder for the manufacture of edible syrup (type of maple syrup). Native Americans also the used wood of box elder for the manufacture of musical instruments (flutes and drums), prayer sticks and bowls. Charcoal made of wood of box elder was used for the painting of the bodies during various rituals. Soft wood of box elder is not commercially valuable today. It is mostly used for the manufacture of boxes, barrels, interior finishing, cheap furniture and woodenware. Box elder can be used to stabilise the soil and prevent erosion of river banks. Native Americans used the bark of box elder as emetic (substance that induces vomiting), for the purification of the body. Box elder can survive from 75 to 100 years in the wild. Although native to North America, it is considered an invasive species in some areas of that continent. It can quickly colonise both cultivated and uncultivated areas and the range is therefore expanding both in North America and elsewhere. In Europe where it was introduced in 1688 as a park tree it is able to spread quickly in places and is considered an invasive species in parts of Central Europe (Germany and the Czech Republic, middle Danube, Vistula river valley in Poland) where it can form mass growth in lowlands, disturbed areas and riparian biomes on calcareous soils. It has also become naturalised in eastern China and can be found in some of the cooler areas of the Australian continent where it is listed as a pest invasive species. This species prefers bright sunlight. It often grows on flood plains and other disturbed areas with ample water supply, such as riparian habitats. Human influence has greatly favoured this species; it grows around houses and in hedges, as well as on disturbed ground and vacant lots. Several birds and some squirrels feed on the seeds. The evening grosbeak uses them extensively. The Maple Bug (also known as the Boxelder Bug) lays its eggs on all maples, but prefers this species. The rosy maple moth (Dryocampa rubicunda) also lays its eggs on the leaves of maple trees, including the boxelder maple, so when the larvae hatch, they feed on the leaves, which in very dense populations can cause defoliation. ===Other common names=== ashleaf maple ash-leaved maple boxelder maple maple ash ===*Useful websites=== ift.tt/2Jy2YXP ift.tt/2KjZnxB ift.tt/2JwjhEt ift.tt/2KhPosx ift.tt/2Ju1OfM ift.tt/2KjZoBF ===Scientific classification=== Kingdom: Plantae Clade: Angiosperms Clade: Eudicots Clade: Rosids Order: Sapindales Family: Sapindaceae Genus: Acer Species: A. negundo *Information sourced from the above websites
Box elder (female) - tree - September 2018
===General information=== Box elder is a species of maple that belongs to the soapberry family. It originates from North America, but it can be found in Europe, China and Australia today. Box elder prefers moist areas and it usually grows in the wastelands, valleys, floodplains and areas near the rivers and streams. It tolerates cold weather, drought and floods and it easily spreads in the urban areas. People cultivate box elder mostly for ornamental purposes. Box elder has a short trunk and bushy crown. It can reach 50 to 75 feet in height and 4 feet in diameter (trunk). Young box elder is covered with light brown, smooth bark. A Mature tree has dark brown bark covered with deep ridges and furrows. Box elder easily splits during storms because of its thin bark that cannot provide protection of soft, inner wood. Box elder has smooth, purple or shiny green twigs. They are covered with a protective layer of wax and oval-shaped openings that facilitate exchange of gases with the atmosphere. Box elder has pinnate leaves composed of 3 to 7, oval or elliptic leaflets with irregularly notched edges. Leaves are green, darker on the upper side. Box elder is the only species of maple that has compound leaves (other species of maple have palmate leaves). Box elder produces small, yellow-green flowers. Male and female flowers develop on the separate trees (dioecious plant). Male flowers are arranged in small, hairy bundles. Female flowers are arranged in narrow, drooping clusters. Box elder blooms early in the spring, usually during the April. The flowers are designed for the pollination by wind. The fruit of box elder is yellowish or reddish-brown samara organised in V-shaped pairs. Each fruit consists of a seed and wing which facilitates dispersal by wind. Box elder ripens from August to October. Fruit stays on the tree throughout the winter. Box elder serves as an important source of food for the wildlife. Birds and squirrels like to eat the seed of box elder. Native Americans used sap of box elder for the manufacture of edible syrup (type of maple syrup). Native Americans also the used wood of box elder for the manufacture of musical instruments (flutes and drums), prayer sticks and bowls. Charcoal made of wood of box elder was used for the painting of the bodies during various rituals. Soft wood of box elder is not commercially valuable today. It is mostly used for the manufacture of boxes, barrels, interior finishing, cheap furniture and woodenware. Box elder can be used to stabilise the soil and prevent erosion of river banks. Native Americans used the bark of box elder as emetic (substance that induces vomiting), for the purification of the body. Box elder can survive from 75 to 100 years in the wild. Although native to North America, it is considered an invasive species in some areas of that continent. It can quickly colonise both cultivated and uncultivated areas and the range is therefore expanding both in North America and elsewhere. In Europe where it was introduced in 1688 as a park tree it is able to spread quickly in places and is considered an invasive species in parts of Central Europe (Germany and the Czech Republic, middle Danube, Vistula river valley in Poland) where it can form mass growth in lowlands, disturbed areas and riparian biomes on calcareous soils. It has also become naturalised in eastern China and can be found in some of the cooler areas of the Australian continent where it is listed as a pest invasive species. This species prefers bright sunlight. It often grows on flood plains and other disturbed areas with ample water supply, such as riparian habitats. Human influence has greatly favoured this species; it grows around houses and in hedges, as well as on disturbed ground and vacant lots. Several birds and some squirrels feed on the seeds. The evening grosbeak uses them extensively. The Maple Bug (also known as the Boxelder Bug) lays its eggs on all maples, but prefers this species. The rosy maple moth (Dryocampa rubicunda) also lays its eggs on the leaves of maple trees, including the boxelder maple, so when the larvae hatch, they feed on the leaves, which in very dense populations can cause defoliation. ===Other common names=== ashleaf maple ash-leaved maple boxelder maple maple ash ===*Useful websites=== ift.tt/2Jy2YXP ift.tt/2KjZnxB ift.tt/2JwjhEt ift.tt/2KhPosx ift.tt/2Ju1OfM ift.tt/2KjZoBF ===Scientific classification=== Kingdom: Plantae Clade: Angiosperms Clade: Eudicots Clade: Rosids Order: Sapindales Family: Sapindaceae Genus: Acer Species: A. negundo *Information sourced from the above websites