THE ASH-LEAVED MAPLE OR BOX ELDER 



PERHAPS the most attractive feature of the Box Elder or Ash-leaved Maple is 

 found in the rich coloring of the twigs in autumn and winter. These are of a 

 glorious olive green, often covered with a glaucous bloom, one of the most satis- 

 fying hues in the world of trees. The broad buds are densely downy and generally greenish 

 or brownish in color. The bark of the older branches is greenish or brownish, while that 

 of the trunk varies from yellowish green on young trees to dark grayish brown on older 

 ones. 



The pendent clusters of greenish yellow flowers appear in early spring, generally 

 during the first half of April. The pollen-bearing and seed-bearing blossoms are on separate 

 trees. The former are in simple clusters of long-stemmed flowers; the latter are in long 

 racemes. The leaves begin to develop as the blossoms appear, and soon clothe the tree 

 with a compound foliage of a tender green color. Each leaf has from three to seven leaflets, 

 and is of a very characteristic form, which is well shown in the accompanying picture. 



As the leaves fall from the Box Elder in October the fruit-laden tree seems scarcely 

 to miss them, so thickly is it clothed with the long pendent racemes of graceful key-fruits. 

 There are often ten or a dozen fruits hanging from a single stalk, the distance from the base 

 of the stalk to the tip of the terminal samara being commonly nine or ten inches. Each 

 pair of fruits is joined at nearly a right angle, each fruit being slender at the base and having 

 a rather broad wing. These key-fruits often remain upon the tree through the greater 

 part of the winter, being whipped off one at a time by strong winds that carry them far 

 and wide and leave behind the stalks still attached to the twigs. 



As a shade and ornamental tree the Box Elder has the advantages of rapid growth, 

 dense foliage, good coloring, and comparative freedom from attack by insects and fungi. 

 As it gets older, however, it often shows a certain lack of grace, and in some way it does 

 not make the distinctive appeal to one that many of our shade trees do. It is variable in 

 growth, so that it is not desirable for planting in long rows where uniformity is desired. 

 Of late years varieties with colored foliage have been developed and offered by nurserymen. 



As a native tree the Ash-leaved Maple is distributed throughout most of the United 

 States east of the Rocky Mountains. In California a special variety is indigenous. 



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