Both deciduous tree diagram that are worthy for considerateness as shadiness trees , ash tree and boxelder trees do not make for an easygoing , concise comparison . About 65 tree diagram species are acknowledge as ash ( Fraxinus spp . ) , but " boxelder " refers to only mintage of North American maple ( Acer negundo ) . In a widespread generalization , any ash tree coinage becomes a more ornate specimen tree when compare to the boxelder , which is highly variable and suffers humbled limbs .
Origins
Ash tree are typically in timberland on any of their native Continent , Europe , Asia and North America . Three example of North American ash tree Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree coinage are blank ash ( Fraxinus Americana ) , dark-green ash ( Fraxinus pennsylvanica ) and the Arizona ash ( Fraxinus velutina ) . The boxelder tree diagram is aboriginal to a vast portion of central North America . In fact , grant to the U.S. Department of Agriculture ’s Forest Service website , it has the largest natural range of a function of all maple on the continent , extend from south - central Canada to Mexico east of the Rocky Mountains .
Taxonomy
Ash and boxelder Tree are not closely colligate , even though both are considered flower plants ( angiosperms ) . Ash tree diagram are in the olive syndicate , Oleaceae . Boxelder is a type of maple , a member of the maple syndicate , Aceraceae . Some taxonomists no longer pick out the maple kinsperson but rather consider it a part of the soapberry family , Sapindaceae .
Foliage
Both ash tree and boxelder trees have leaves constitute booklet ( a compound foliage ) and leaves that are arrange in an alternating pattern on the tree diagram branches . Depending on the species of ash , the compound foliage has from three through 15 leaflets that are narrow-minded , tapering ovals in form . The boxelder ’s chemical compound leaves have either three or five leaflets , each point ovals with jagged dentition on their bound . Sometimes these leaflets have shallow lobes that somewhat hint of the contour of a distinctive maple leafage .
In fall , ash trees ' leaves reverse anywhere from exculpated yellow to red or burgundy , depending on species . Boxelder leaves always ferment what may be take an unimpressive , if not untempting , portmanteau word of yellow and immature , sometimes becoming brown and curling if Frost occur .
Uses
Ash tree , specially male - gendered varieties that do not grow seeds , make special shade and street trees , according to the American Horticultural Society ’s " A - Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants . " " Boxelder Tree have limited decorative qualities , " states American woody plant expert and author Michael Dirr , Ph.D. They have some meritoriousness , however ; the Forest Service web site mention that boxelder tree diagram demonstrate particular drouth and cold tolerance . Historically , they were plant in the Great Plains and American West as a street tree diagram and in windbreaks . Their sinewy etymon system assists in controlling erosion , too . Mutant selections ( cultivars ) of boxelders are used in garden because they display more colored foliage .
Growth Habits
While the precise mature form and habit of an ash Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree diverge by species , the general feature is that it forms a full-strength , vertical trunk . Its canopy possesses many upwardly - angled branch in a uniform , even convention , developing a body structure that is spreading but rounded and/or upright oval . In direct contrast , the boxelder tree diagram can be a weedy - looking bush with many stemlike proboscis or an upright tree . Its trunk is often run , knobby or unorthodox with branches that occur all over the place . harm from nothingness frequently finds boxelder Tree miss branch , defecate their canopy not perfectly oval and just . allot to Dirr , a boxelder tree becomes a broad - rounded Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree but has trivial consistence and can appear as a " biologic fearfulness . "
Concerns
Both types of tree have drawback , mainly around their legion susceptibilities to insects and diseases . Fungus , cankers , rot and rust can smite both trees . Borers , sawfly , larval louse and scale also can be problematical . Boxelder tree diagram , at least the female - gendered one , produce enough source each year that puts even the most fat female - gendered ash tree to shame . Both types are messy due to the fall seeds and , in the case of the boxelder , the seeds germinate in gamy numbers all around the landscape , even in soil and conditions you ’d think a industrial plant could n’t survive .
