Box elder, Acer negundo, is actually a maple tree, despite having some non-maple features (particularly its compound leaves and green twigs). However, once the trees begin to make "helicopters" in the summer their maple-ness is unmistakeable. Found throughout the Midwest, the tree is fond of floodplains and riparian ecosystems, but can also be found in or at the edges of areas disturbed by humans and, occasionally, in upland woods.

We have a box elder tree in our back yard and, to be honest, it's not a very attractive tree. Our main experiences with the tree have been in mistaking its saplings for poison ivy (see below), watching hundreds of box elder bugs (also see below) take over the yard every fall, and our unsuccessful attempts to tap the tree for maple syrup (not worth your time).

scrappy-looking stature and floodplain habitat, often with sycamore and eastern cottonwood

"helicopters"

summer leaves

young bark

mature bark

twig

leaf and samaras ("helicopters")