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Acer negundo
Also called Boxelder, Box elder, Ash-leaved maple, Ashleaf maple, Boxelder maple, California boxelder, Western boxelder
Manitoba maple is a fast-growing, fairly short-lived North American tree with compound ash-like leaves, often grown as a shade tree but prone to weak wood and spreading by seed. This entry covers the species Acer negundo, which has popular cultivars such as Flamingo and Variegatum.
Acer negundo, also known as the box elder, boxelder maple, Manitoba maple or ash-leaved maple, is a species of maple native to North America from Canada to Honduras. It is a fast-growing, short-lived tree with opposite, ash-like compound leaves. It is sometimes considered a weedy or invasive species, and has been naturalized throughout much of the world, including South America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Eurasia.
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. Many cultivars have been developed, such as:
Auratum: yellowish leaves with smooth undersides
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. 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) is a severe allergen.
Acer negundo is native across much of the US (mostly in the east) and south-central Canada, and can be found as far south as Guatemala and Honduras. It has also been naturalized throughout much of the world, including South America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, much of Europe, and parts of Asia.
Field Maple · Kyushu Maple · Cappadocian maple · Vine maple · Père David's maple · Horned maple · Acer tataricum subsp. ginnala · Paperbark maple · Fullmoon Maple · Lobel's Maple · Bigleaf Maple · Montpellier Maple
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Acer negundo by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
