An ‘outcast maple’ makes a statement.
Signs of spring are multiplying every day. Today a box elder reached out and dangled his conspicuous tassels right in front of our faces to get our attention. The audacious silky pink inflorescences are the male catkins, flouncing around in the breeze, dispersing clouds of pollen and making a scene.
Female trees produce an elegant, more understated flower and wait quietly nearby to catch the wind-blown pollen. They will get their moment in the spotlight in September, offering up glorious clusters of paired samaras loaded with millions of future box elders.
“My boxelder bugs have odd preferences. They love radio dials, phonograph speakers, amplifiers, pianos, and harpsichords. Some would argue that this is because of the warmth and vibrations, but I prefer to think it is because of their taste for Bach and Vivaldi.”
Bill Holm
My Minnesota Trees book describes the box elder as trashy, unattractive with a ragged, disheveled crown—an ‘outcast maple’. The limbs break with a vengeance and, of course, there’s those bugs!
But they also say the box elder is comfortable in poor soil, adaptable, extremely fast-growing, and the seeds, which fall in profuse clusters, are almost 100% viable. She’s exceptionally fruitful!
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