Box Elder (Acer negundo)
Family :
Zone: 2 - 10
Zone: 2 - 10
Very common maple in Minnesota that is also found in every state except Alaska and Hawaii. Differs from most other maples species in that it is dioecious and has compound leaves. Leaves usually have 3 leaflets which look somewhat like poison ivy. A fast growing tree that can reach a height of 50 ft at maturity. As a maple it can be tapped for sap and used in syrup production. Larvae of the boxelder bugs feed exclusively on the leaves in the fall and the black and orange adults often cover the stems en mass. Easily worked wood was used in making crates and boxes...hence the common name.