Box Elder (Acer negundo) is a large tree in the maple family. The Box Elder (sometimes Boxelder maple, Manitoba maple or ash-leaved maple) is native to North America, found across most of the United States and southern Canada, and even stretching down to Guatemala, but is considered an invasive species in Australia. The Box Elder defers from most other maples in its leaf structure. The leaves of the Box Elder are pinnately compound, meaning they have 3-7 featherlike leaflets making up each leaf rather than one, connected leaf body. Many Native American tribes, such as the Navajo, Cheyenne, and the Omaha people, use the Box Elder for medicinal, spiritual, technological, and religious uses such as burning it as incense or using the wood to construct bowls and dishes.
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Photos taken at Old Town June 2022.