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Boxelder is dioecious — trees either produce all male (staminate) or all female (pistillate) flowers. Neither male or female flowers have petals; both consist of drooping, hairy filaments that bear either 5 reddish-brown anthers (male) or a greenish-white, deeply-forked style (female). The flowers are wind pollinated. Boxelder wood is soft and brittle so broken branches are common, but the trees can live to be a century old.

Acer

Acer negundo

boxelder [Blooms: Apr-May]

Perfect flowers are rare in red maple; individual trees may produce all male flowers, all female flowers, or both male flowers and female flowers on the same tree. Male flowers occur on the previous year's twigs (before the leaves open) as dense clusters 3/4-1" across composed of 1/8" long sessile flowers surrounded by short bracts with hairy margins; each flower has five sepals and five petals (making up a red or sometimes yellow bell-shaped corolla), and 5-8 slender, projecting stamens two to three times longer than the sepals. The female flowers also occur on the previous year's twigs before the leaves open as dense (3/4-1" across) clusters of initially sessile flowers, but the pedicels of the flowers soon elongate (to 1/2-2") and the flowers begin to droop; each 1/8" long flower has five sepals and five petals (making up a red or sometimes yellow bell-shaped corolla), and a two celled, hairless ovary with a pair of robust, arching red styles in the center. The flowers are wind pollinated. Fertilized flowers are soon transformed into a pair of red, winged samaras (i.e, maple seeds) joined tip to tip at a 45-90° angle. At maturity, the samaras are each 3/4-1" long. Like silver maple, the seeds of red maple can germinate in the same year they form (i.e., they don't need to overwinter to sprout).

Acer

Acer rubrum

red maple [Blooms: Mar-Apr]

Silver maples may produce male flowers on separate trees from the female flowers or both male and female flowers may be produced by the same tree. Flowers emerge before the leaves. Staminate flowers occur in small (1/3" across) clusters on short, lateral spurs from the twigs. The staminate flowers are yellowish-green to red. Individual staminate florets consist of four sepals and 4-6 stamens; there are no petals. Pistillate florets also occur in small (1/3" across) clusters on short peduncles bordered by several scaly bractlets; the florets are greenish-yellow to red in color. Individual pistillate florets consist of four sepals and a pistil with a pair of styles; there are no petals. The female florets are wind pollinated. Fertilized pistillate florets produce a pair of conjoined winged fruits (samaras) at about 90° from each other; when mature, the samaras are light brown and 1.5-2.5" long, falling to the ground in early summer. Unlike most other maples, silver maples produce fruits (samaras) that can germinate in the spring of the year in which they are produced.

Acer

Acer saccharinum

silver maple [Blooms: Mar]