Negundo aceroides subsp. violaceus(Booth ex G. Kirchn.) W.A. Weber
Negundo fraxinifolium var. crispumLoudon
Negundo fraxinifolium var. violaceumBooth ex Loudon
Negundo negundo(L.) H. Karst.
Negundo texanum(Pax) Rydb.
Rulac negundo(L.) Hitchc.
Female flowersMale flowers
Acer negundo, the box elder, boxelder maple, Manitoba maple or ash-leaved maple, is a species of maple native to North America. It is a fast-growing, short-lived tree with opposite, compound leaves. It is sometimes considered a weedy or invasive species, and has been introduced to and naturalized throughout much of the world, including in South America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, much of Europe, and parts of Asia.[3][4]
Acer negundo is a fast-growing and fairly short-lived tree that grows up to 10–25 metres (35–80 feet) tall, with a trunk diameter of 30–50 centimetres (12–20 inches), rarely up to 1m (3ft 3in) diameter. It often has several trunks and can form impenetrable thickets.[4] The typical lifespan of box elder is 60 - 75 years. Under exceptionally favorable conditions, it may live to 100 years.[5]
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.[6]
Unlike most other maples (which usually have simple, palmatelylobedleaves), Acer negundo has pinnatelycompound leaves that usually have three to seven leaflets.[7] 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. The leaflets are about 5–10cm (2–4in) long and 3–7cm (1+1⁄4–2+3⁄4in) wide with slightly serrate margins. Leaves have a translucent light green color and turn yellow in the fall.[citation needed]
The yellow-green flowers are small and appear in early spring, with staminate flowers in clusters on slender pedicels and pistillate flowers on drooping racemes10–20cm (4–8in) long.
The fruit is a schizocarp of two single-seeded, winged samaras on drooping racemes. Each seed is slender, 1–2cm (1⁄2–3⁄4in) long, with a 2–3cm (3⁄4–1+1⁄4in) incurved wing; they drop in autumn or they may persist through winter. Seeds are usually both prolific and fertile.[6]
Unlike most other maples, A. negundo is fully dioecious and both a male and female tree are needed for reproduction to occur.
Leaves and fruit
Autumn leaf color
Retained seeds in winter
Seedling
Sprawling, multi-stemmed growth form
Fruit.
Taxonomy
A few botanists treat boxelder maple in its own distinct genus (Negundo aceroides) but this is not widely accepted.[citation needed]
Common names
Indicative of its familiarity to many people over a large geographic range, A. negundo has numerous common names. The names "box elder" and "boxelder maple" are based upon the similarity of its whitish wood to that of boxwood and the similarity of its pinnately compound leaves to those of some species of elder.[8]
Other common names are based upon this maple's similarity to ash, its preferred environment, its sugary sap, a description of its leaves, its binomial name, and so on. These names include "Manitoba maple", "ash-leaf maple", "cut-leaved maple", "three-leaf maple", "ash maple", "sugar maple", "negundo maple", and "river maple".[9]
Names vary regionally. Box elder, boxelder maple, ash-leaved maple, and maple ash are among its common names in the United States. In Canada it is commonly known as Manitoba maple and occasionally as elf maple.[10] In the British Isles it is known as box elder[11] or ashleaf maple.[12] In Russia it is known as American maple (Russian:америка́нский клён, tr.amerikansky klyon) as well as ash-leaf maple (Russian:клён ясенели́стный, tr.klyon yasenelistny).
Because of its leaflets' superficial similarity to those of poison ivy, Acer negundo saplings are often mistaken for the allergenic plant. While both poison ivy and Acer negundo have compound leaves composed of three leaflets with ragged edges, Acer negundo exhibits an opposite branching pattern, as opposed to the alternating pattern of poison ivy.[13] Like poison ivy, Acer negundo is also a noted riparian species, and can often be found growing along riverbeds and in wet soils generally. For all these reasons, and despite their obvious differences, Acer negundo is sometimes referred to informally as the poison ivy tree.[14]
Subspecies
Acer negundo is often divided into three or more subspecies, some of which were originally described as separate species. These are:[15]
Acer negundo subsp. negundo, native from the Atlantic Coast to the Rocky Mountains.[4]
Acer negundo subsp. interior(Britton) Sarg., with more leaf serration than the nominate subspecies and a more matte leaf surface, is native from Saskatchewan to New Mexico, between the eastern and western subspecies.[4]
Acer negundo var. arizonicumSarg. is native to Arizona, New Mexico, and northern Mexico.[15]
Acer negundo subsp. californicum(Torr. & A.Gray) Sarg., with larger leaves with a velvety texture, is found in parts of California.[4][15]
Acer negundo subsp. mexicanum(DC.) Wesm. is native to Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras.[15]
Acer negundo var. texanumPax is native to the southern United States from Virginia to New Mexico, and to northeastern Mexico.[15]
Acer negundo var. violaceum(Booth ex Loudon) H.Jaeger is native to the Northeastern coastal United States and to the northern interior United States from the Ohio Valley to the Columbia River basin.[15]
Some authors further subdivide A. negundo subsp. negundo into a number of regional varieties but these intergrade and their maintenance as distinct taxa is disputed by many. Even the differences between recognized subspecies are probably a matter of gradient speciation.[citation needed]
Distribution and habitat
Acer negundo often grows alongside waterbodiesGrowing as a weed in pavement crack in Russia
Acer negundo is native across much of the United States (mostly in the east)[7] and south-central Canada, and can be found as far south as Guatemala.
Although native to North America, it is considered a weedy species in some areas, such as in parts of the Northeastern United States, and has increased greatly in these areas.[16] In 1928, Joseph Illick, chief forester for the state of Pennsylvania, wrote in Pennsylvania Trees[citation needed] that box elder was "rare and localized" in the state. After World War II, box elder's rapid growth made it a popular landscaping tree in suburban housing developments despite its poor form, vulnerability to storm damage, and tendency to attract large numbers of box elder bugs. Intentional cultivation has thus made the tree far more abundant than it once was.[citation needed]
It can quickly colonize 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 and is considered an invasive species in parts of Central Europe, including Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, and Poland) where it can form mass growth in lowlands, disturbed areas, and riparian biomes on calcareous soils. It has also become naturalized in eastern China,[4] is listed as a pest invasive species in some of the cooler areas of the Australian continent, and is invasive in the Rio de la Plata area.[citation needed]
This species prefers bright sunlight. It often grows on flood plains and other disturbed areas with ample water supply, such as riparian habitats.[17] Human influence has greatly favored this species; it grows around houses and in hedges, as well as on disturbed ground and vacant lots.
Ecology
Boxelder bugs (Boisea trivittata) feed on Acer negundo
The boxelder bug (Boisea trivittata) lays its eggs on all maples, but prefers this species, clustering the eggs in bark crevices.[17] The rosy maple moth (Dryocampa rubicunda) also lays its eggs on the leaves of maple trees, including Acer negundo. The larvae feed on the leaves, and in very dense populations can cause defoliation.[19]
Small galls are formed on the leaves by a bladder mite, Aceria negundi. A gall midge, Contarinia negundinis joins and enlarges the galls of Aceria negundi. The midge sometimes creates a separate, tubular gall on the midrib or veins of the undersides of the leaves.[17]
Although its weak wood, irregular form, and prolific seeding might make it seem like a poor choice for a landscape tree, A. negundo is one of the most common maples in cultivation. Long-term success has been noted as far north as Yellowknife.[20] Many cultivars have been developed, such as:[4]
'Auratum'– yellowish leaves with smooth undersides
'Aureomarginatum'– creamy yellow leaf margins
'Baron'– Hardier & seedless variety
'Elegans'– distinctively convex leaves
'Flamingo'– pink and white variegation (very popular)
'Violaceum'– younger shoots and branches have bluish color
Toxicity
A protoxin present in the seeds of Acer negundo, hypoglycin A, has been identified as a major risk factor for, and possibly the cause of, a disease in horses, seasonal pasture myopathy (SPM). SPM is an equine neurological disease which occurs seasonally in certain areas of North America and Europe, with symptoms including stiffness, difficulty walking or standing, dark urine and eventually breathing rapidly and becoming recumbent. Ingestion of sufficient quantities of box elder seeds or other parts of the plant results in breakdown of respiratory, postural, and cardiac muscles. The cause of SPM was unknown for centuries despite the disease being well known among affected areas and was only positively determined in the 21st century.[21][22][23] It is analogous to Jamaican vomiting sickness in humans, also caused by hypoglycin A.
Acer negundo pollen, which is released in winter or spring (varying with latitude and elevation)[24] is a severe allergen.[24]
Uses
Wood
Heartwood of Acer negundo with red stain
Although its light, close-grained, soft wood is considered undesirable for most commercial uses, this tree has been considered as a source of wood fiber, for use in fiberboard.[citation needed] There is also some commercial use of the tree for various decorative applications, such as turned items (bowls, stem-ware, pens). Such purposes generally use burl or injured wood, as the injured wood develops a red stain.[citation needed]
The wood has been used for a variety of purposes by Native Americans, such as by the Navajo to make tubes for bellows,[25] by the Cheyenne to make bowls,[26] and by the native peoples of Montana who use the large trunk burls or knots to make bowls, dishes, drums, and pipe stems.[27] The Tewa use the twigs as pipe stems[28] and the Keres make the twigs into prayer sticks.[29]
Acer negundo was identified as the material used in the oldest extant wood flutes from the Americas. The flutes, excavated by Earl H. Morris in 1931 in Northeastern Arizona, have been dated to 620–670 CE.[34]
Medicinal use
Acer negundo has been used by Native Americans for several medicinal purposes. The Cheyenne burn the wood as incense for making spiritual medicines,[27] and during Sun Dance ceremonies.[27] The Meskwaki use a decoction of the inner bark as an emetic,[35] and the Ojibwa use an infusion of the inner bark for the same purpose.[36]
↑ "Windsor Plywood". Some of the common names given in this reference are questionable, "stinking ash" and "black ash" typically refer to Ptelea trifoliata and Fraxinus nigra, respectively. This reference is retained as an example of the confusion which arises when plants such as A. negundo are discussed by other than their scientific names.
↑ Elmore, Francis H. (1944). Ethnobotany of the Navajo. Santa Fe, NM. School of American Research (p. 62)
↑ Hart, Jeffrey A. (1981). "The Ethnobotany of the Northern Cheyenne Indians of Montana." Journal of Ethnopharmacology 4:1–55 (p. 46).
1 2 3 4 5 Hart, Jeff (1992). Montana Native Plants and Early Peoples. Helena. Montana Historical Society Press (p. 4)
↑ Robbins, W.W., J.P. Harrington and B. Freire-Marreco (1916). "Ethnobotany of the Tewa Indians." SI-BAE Bulletin #55 (p. 38).
↑ Swank, George R. (1932). The Ethnobotany of the Acoma and Laguna Indians. University of New Mexico, M.A. Thesis (p. 24).
1 2 3 4 Gilmore, Melvin R. (1919). "Uses of Plants by the Indians of the Missouri River Region." SI-BAE Annual Report #33 (p. 101)
↑ Gilmore, Melvin R. (1913). "A Study in the Ethnobotany of the Omaha Indians." Nebraska State Historical Society Collections 17:314–57. (p. 336).
1 2 Gilmore, Melvin R. (1913). "Some Native Nebraska Plants With Their Uses by the Dakota." Nebraska State Historical Society Collections 17:358–70 (p. 366)
↑ Vestal, Paul A. and Richard Evans Schultes (1939). The Economic Botany of the Kiowa Indians. Cambridge MA. Botanical Museum of Harvard University (p. 40)
↑ Smith, Huron H. (1928). "Ethnobotany of the Meskwaki Indians." Bulletin of the Public Museum of the City of Milwaukee 4:175–326 (p. 200)'
↑ Smith, Huron H. (1932). "Ethnobotany of the Ojibwe Indians." Bulletin of the Public Museum of Milwaukee 4:327–525 (p. 353)
↑ Gilmore, Melvin R. (1913). "A Study in the Ethnobotany of the Omaha Indians." Nebraska State Historical Society Collections 17:314–57. (p. 329).
↑ Johnston, Alex (1987). Plants and the Blackfoot. Lethbridge, Alberta. Lethbridge Historical Society (p. 44).
↑ Blankinship, J. W. (1905). "Native Economic Plants of Montana." Bozeman. Montana Agricultural College Experimental Station, Bulletin 56 (p. 16)
↑ Castetter, Edward F. and M. E. Opler (1936). "Ethnobiological Studies in the American Southwest III. The Ethnobiology of the Chiricahua and Mescalero Apache." University of New Mexico Bulletin 4(5):1–63 (p. 44).
↑ Hart, Jeffrey A. (1981). "The Ethnobotany of the Northern Cheyenne Indians of Montana." Journal of Ethnopharmacology 4:1–55 (p. 13).
↑ Smith, Huron H. (1932). "Ethnobotany of the Ojibwe Indians." Bulletin of the Public Museum of Milwaukee 4:327–525 (p. 394).
General and cited references
Maeglin, Robert R.; Lewis F. Ohmann (1973). "Boxelder (Acer negundo): A Review and Commentary". Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club. 100 (6): 357–363. doi:10.2307/2484104. JSTOR2484104.
Philips, Roger. Trees of North America and Europe. New York: Random House. ISBN0-394-50259-0, 1979.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Acer negundo .
Look up Manitoba maple in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Toxicodendron radicans, commonly known as eastern poison ivy or poison ivy, is an allergenic flowering plant that occurs in Asia and eastern North America. The species is well known for causing urushiol-induced contact dermatitis, an itchy, irritating, and sometimes painful rash, in most people who touch it. The rash is caused by urushiol, a clear liquid compound in the plant's sap. The species is variable in its appearance and habit, and despite its common name, it is not a true ivy (Hedera), but rather a member of the cashew and pistachio family (Anacardiaceae). T. radicans is commonly eaten by many animals and the seeds are consumed by birds, but poison ivy is most often thought of as an unwelcome weed. It is a different species from western poison ivy, T. rydbergii, which has similar effects.
Quercus palustris, also called pin oak, swamp oak, or Spanish oak, is a tree in the red oak section of the genus Quercus. Pin oak is one of the most commonly used landscaping oaks in its native range due to its ease of transplant, relatively fast growth, and pollution tolerance.
Acer saccharum, the sugar maple, is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is native to the hardwood forests of eastern Canada and eastern United States. Sugar maple is best known for being the primary source of maple syrup and for its brightly colored fall foliage. It may also be known as "rock maple", "sugar tree", "birds-eye maple", "sweet maple", "curly maple", or "hard maple", particularly when referring to the wood.
Acer platanoides, commonly known as the Norway maple, is a species of maple native to eastern and central Europe and western Asia, from Spain east to Russia, north to southern Scandinavia and southeast to northern Iran. It was introduced to North America in the mid-1700s as a shade tree. It is a member of the family Sapindaceae.
Acer rubrum, the red maple, also known as swamp maple, water maple, or soft maple, is one of the most common and widespread deciduous trees of eastern and central North America. The U.S. Forest Service recognizes it as the most abundant native tree in eastern North America. The red maple ranges from southeastern Manitoba around the Lake of the Woods on the border with Ontario and Minnesota, east to Newfoundland, south to Florida, and southwest to East Texas. Many of its features, especially its leaves, are quite variable in form. At maturity, it often attains a height around 30 m (100 ft). Its flowers, petioles, twigs, and seeds are all red to varying degrees. Among these features, however, it is best known for its brilliant deep scarlet foliage in autumn.
Ptelea trifoliata, commonly known as common hoptree, wafer ash, stinking ash, and skunk bush, is a species of flowering plant in the citrus family (Rutaceae). It is native to North America, where it is found in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. It is a deciduous shrub or tree, with alternate, trifoliate leaves.
Sorbus aucuparia, commonly called rowan and mountain-ash, is a species of deciduous tree or shrub in the rose family. It is a highly variable species, and botanists have used different definitions of the species to include or exclude trees native to certain areas. A recent definition includes trees native to most of Europe and parts of Asia, as well as northern Africa. The range extends from Madeira, the British Isles and Iceland to Russia and northern China. Unlike many plants with similar distributions, it is not native to Japan.
Acer pseudoplatanus, known as the sycamore in the British Isles and as the sycamore maple in the United States, is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is a large deciduous, broad-leaved tree, tolerant of wind and coastal exposure. It is native to Central Europe and Western Asia, from France eastward to Ukraine, northern Turkey and the Caucasus and southward in the mountains of Italy and northern Iberia.
Acer campestre, known as the field maple, is a flowering plant species in the family Sapindaceae. It is native to much of continental Europe, Britain, southwest Asia from Turkey to the Caucasus, and north Africa in the Atlas Mountains. It has been widely planted, and is introduced outside its native range in Europe and areas of USA and Western Australia with suitable climate.
Alnus rubra, the red alder, is a deciduous broadleaf tree native to western North America.
Box Elder or Boxelder may refer to:
The boxelder bug, also called box bug, maple bug or, inaccurately, box beetle, is a species of true bug native to eastern North America. The western boxelder bug Boisea rubrolineata is a relative of this species and is native to western North America. Boxelder bugs are found primarily on boxelder trees, as well as on maple and ash trees.
Acer grandidentatum, commonly called bigtooth maple, is a species of maple native to interior western North America. It occurs in scattered populations from western Montana to central Texas in the United States and south to Coahuila in northern Mexico.
Fraxinus latifolia, the Oregon ash, is a member of the ash genus Fraxinus, native to western North America.
Acer is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the soapberry family, Sapindaceae, along with lychee and horse chestnut. There are approximately 132 species, most of which are native to Asia, with a number also appearing in Europe, northern Africa, and North America. Only one species, Acer laurinum, extends to the Southern Hemisphere. The type species of the genus is the sycamore maple, Acer pseudoplatanus, the most common maple species in Europe. Maples usually have easily recognizable palmate leaves and distinctive winged fruits. The closest relatives of the maples are the horse chestnuts. Maple syrup is made from the sap of some maple species. It is one of the most common genera of trees in Asia. Many maple species are grown in gardens where they are valued for their autumn colour.
Fraxinus nigra, the black ash, is a species of ash native to much of eastern Canada and the northeastern United States, from western Newfoundland west to southeastern Manitoba, and south to Illinois and northern Virginia. Formerly abundant, as of 2014 the species is threatened with near total extirpation throughout its range, as a result of infestation by a parasitic insect known as the emerald ash borer.
Acer glabrum is a species of maple native to western North America, from southeastern Alaska, British Columbia and western Alberta, east to western Nebraska, and south through Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Colorado to California, Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico.
Acer maximowiczianum, is a species of maple widely distributed in China and Japan.
Acer palmatum, commonly known as Japanese maple, palmate maple, or smooth Japanese maple (Japanese: irohamomiji, イロハモミジ, or momiji,, is a species of woody plant native to Japan, Korea, China, eastern Mongolia, and southeast Russia. Many different cultivars of this maple have been selected and they are grown worldwide for their large variety of attractive forms, leaf shapes, and spectacular colors.
This is a list of plants used by the indigenous people of North America. For lists pertaining specifically to the Cherokee, Iroquois, Navajo, and Zuni, see Cherokee ethnobotany, Iroquois ethnobotany, Navajo ethnobotany, and Zuni ethnobotany.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
