the.com/boxelder
the maple that refuses to act like a maple, then ruins your porch with bugs
means A fast-growing North American maple (Acer negundo) with compound leaves unlike typical maples, often considered a weedy nuisance and famous for attracting swarms of black-and-red boxelder bugs.
from A compound of "box" and "elder." The "box" part likely refers to the soft, pale wood's resemblance to boxwood (the timber traditionally used for boxes and carving), while "elder" points to its compound, divided leaves that look more like an elder tree's than a maple's — a tree named, in other words, for everything it isn't. The name is North American and dates to roughly the early 19th century.
- secret maple
- It's genuinely a maple, despite looking nothing like one
- the bugs
- Boxelder bugs swarm its seeds, then invade your walls
- fast and brittle
- Grows quickly, then snaps in the first real storm
- male or female
- Trees are one sex; only females drop seeds
- survivor
- Thrives in floodplains, ditches, and places nothing else wants
boxelder bug — invasive insect species (boisea trivittata) that swarms buildings in fall across north america
boxelder tree — acer negundo species native to north america, common urban tree producing winged seeds