ACERACEAE 
Boxelder. Ash-leaved Maple 
Acer negundo L. [Negundo aceroides Moench.] 
HABIT.—A sturdy little tree 30-50 feet high, with a trunk 
diameter of 1-2 feet. Trunk often divides near the ground into 
several stout, wide-spreading branches, forming a broad, unsym- 
metrical, open crown. 
LEAVES.—Opposite, pinnately compound. Leaflets 35 in 
number, 2-4 inches long, 144-214 inches broad; ovate or oval; 
nearly entire, irregularly and remotely coarse-toothed above the 
middle, or sometimes 3-lobed (often giving the leaflet a jagged 
outline) ; apex acute, base variable; glabrous or somewhat pube- 
scent at maturity, with prominent veins. Petioles slender, 2-3 
inches long, the enlarged base leaving prominent crescent-shaped 
scars partly surrounding the winter-buds. 
FLOWERS.—April, before or with the leaves; dioecious; 
small, yellow-green; the staminate in clusters on long, thread- 
like, hairy pedicels; the pistillate in narrow, drooping racemes; 
calyx hairy, 5-lobed; corolla 0; stamens 4-6; ovary pubescent. 
FRUIT.—Early summer, but hanging until late autumn or 
early spring; narrow, flat, winged samaras, in pairs, clustered 
in drooping, racemose clusters. 
WINTER-BUDS.—Terminal bud %-14 inch long, acute, 
inclosed in two dull red scales, often hoary or minutely pube- 
scent; lateral buds obtuse, appressed. 
BARK.—Twigs greenish to purple, glaucous; trunk pale 
gray or light brown, deeply cleft into broad ridges. 
‘WOOD.—Light, soft, close-grained, weak, creamy white, 
with thick, hardly distinguishable sapwood. 
DISTRIBUTION.—Lower Peninsula as far north as Sag- 
inaw Bay. 
HABITAT.—Banks of streams and borders of swamps.° 
Prefers deep, moist soil. 
NOTES.—Accommodates itself to almost any situation. 
Easily transplanted. Much planted for shade and ornament. 
Fast-growing, but short-lived. 
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