West side of Holcum, near William

Box elder is a deciduous, widely distributed maple throughout mainland U.S. The one pictured here is the varigated form, not the native California species. Box elder is often not recognized as a maple because of its common name and the uncommon configuration of its leaf. Each leaf is composed of three leaflets instead of the more typical pointed lobed single leaf. Common to every maple are the winged seed pods shown above.