Acer negundo L., Aceraceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: fu ye feng

English: ash-leaf maple, box-elder, three-leaf maple

French: négondo

Japanese: tonerikoba-no-kaede

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Trees to 20 m tall, dioecious. Bark yellowish brown or gray-brown. Branchlets glabrous, those of present year green, older ones yellowish brown; winter buds small, scales 2 (or 3) pairs. Leaves deciduous; leaf blade 10-25 cm, papery, pinnate; petiolules 5-7 cm, pubescent, glabrescent; leaflets 3-7 (-9) per petiole; leaflet blades ovate or elliptic-lanceolate, 8-10 x 2-4 cm, base rounded or truncate, margin entire or with 3-5 teeth, apex acute. Pistillate inflorescence pendulous, racemose or compound racemose, axillary from leafless buds, 15-50-flowered. Staminate inflorescence usually a cluster of 4 flowers. Flowers 4-merous. Petals and disk absent. Stamens purplish, 4-6. Ovary glabrous. Samaras brownish yellow; nutlets convex, glabrous; wing including nutlet 3-3.5 cm x 8-10 mm, wings spreading acutely or nearly erectly"  (Flora of China online).

Habitat/ecology:  "Riparian habitats and forests, woodland.  Where native, this fast growing tree is commonly found in riparian forests and floodplains, and at least seven varieties have been recognized.  It is a shade tolerant tree that easily resprouts after damage and forms root suckers.  The tree is a successful and persistent invader once established, displaces native shrubs and trees and prevents their regeneration.  The tree tolerates flooding and also drought to some extent"  (Weber, 2003; p. 21). 

In New South Wales, Australia, "Acer negundo tolerates frost, full sun, shade (once established), air pollution and flooding, as well as drought to some extent. It has become an invasive weed along watercourses (e.g. in riparian vegetation on riverbanks) and in wet forests and woodland, as well as along roadsides and other disturbed open sites with moist soil"  (NSW PlantNET).  "In Chile this species grows in the following environmental conditions: Low altitude, interior valleys, coastal mountains, 500 - 2000 m, coastal areas, 0 - 500 m.  Somewhat dry areas where the drought may last 3 - 5 months; precipitations of 400 - 800 mm. are concentrated in winter. Fully exposed to the sun; level areas or slopes facing north"  (Chileflora).

Propagation:  "Fruit production is high and seeds are dispersed by wind"  (Weber, 2003; p. 21).

Native range:  Guatemala, Mexico, United States and Canada (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced invasive abo. intro.	Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John (2011)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced cultivated	Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido (2006) (pp. 471, 550) Voucher cited: Danton H(1532)1293

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Australia (continental)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Australia Australia (continental)	New South Wales	introduced invasive cultivated	Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. (1998) (p. 134)
Canada Province of British Columbia	Canada (British Columbia)		U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)
Canada Canada	Canada (country)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011) Alberta, Manitoba, western Ontario, Saskatchewan
Chile (continental) Chile	Chile (Republic of)	introduced cultivated	Belov, Michail (2011)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	introduced invasive cultivated	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011)
Guatemala Guatemala	Guatemala (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Japan Japan	Japan (country)	introduced	Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro (2004) (p. 186)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive cultivated	Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. (1988) (p. 89) "Very common in cultivation, especially in the South Island. ♀ trees fruit prolifically and spontaneous plants often occur".
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (Oregon)		U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (California)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (Washington)		U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	United States (other states)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	USA (Florida)		U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)

Control: 

Physical:  "Seedlings and saplings can be hand pulled or dug out".

Chemical:  "Control includes cutting trees at ground level and treating the cut stumps with herbicides.  2,4-D is a very effective herbicide to control this tree"  (Weber, 2003; p. 21).

Additional information:
Photos and other information from Chileflora.
Fact sheet from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
Fact sheet from Invasive Species in Belgium.

Additional online information about Acer negundo is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Acer negundo as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Acer negundo may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John. 2011. Naturalized species in the Juan Fernández Archipelago, Chile. Unpublished spreadsheet.

Belov, Michail. 2011. Chileflora (online resource).

Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. 1998. Potential environmental weeds in Australia: Candidate species for preventative control. Canberra, Australia. Biodiversity Group, Environment Australia. 208 pp.

Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido. 2006. Nouveau catalogue de la flore vaculaire de l'archipel Juan Fernández (Chile) [Nuevo catálogo de la flora vacular del Archipélago Juan Fernández (Chile)]. Acta Bot. Gallica 153(4):399-587.

Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro. 2004. Invasive alien species in Japan: the status quo and the new regulation for prevention of their adverse effects. Global Environmental Research 8(2)/2004: 171-191.

National Herbarium of New South Wales. 2011. PlantNet: New South Wales Flora online. The Plant Information Network System of the Botanic Gardens Trust Version 2.0. Online resource.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. 2011. The PLANTS Database. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. 1988. Flora of New Zealand, Volume IV: Naturalised pteridophytes, gymnosperms, dicotyledons. Botany Division, DSIR, Christchurch. 1365 pp.

Weber, Ewald. 2003. Invasive plants of the World. CABI Publishing, CAB International, Wallingford, UK. 548 pp.

Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong. 2011. Flora of China (online resource).