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Definition of box elder
: a rapidly growing North American maple (Acer negundo) with compound leaves
Examples of box elder in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web The canyon is filled with box elders that had not yet leafed out, and above us sandstone cliffs soared like skyscrapers.
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Los Angeles Times, "He was seeking custom-made boots. The journey led to a life deeply touched by love and death and leather," 22 Oct. 2019 The water runs fast, flashing between banks of oak and willow, cottonwood and box elder and hackberry, and intricate wild-haired tapestries of fern.
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Christopher Ketcham, Harper's magazine, "Ramblin’ Man," 24 June 2019 Colorado College State of the Rockies project specialist Cyndy Hines pointed to cottonwood trees, box elders, willows and rare flowers.
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Bruce Finley, The Denver Post, "A run through Colorado’s Yampa whitewater reveals the wildness that remains. But will the West’s rivers survive urban demands?," 23 June 2019 Rainy weather can sicken gypsy moths and box elder bugs, making them more vulnerable to disease.
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Meg Jones, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Yeah, we know it's been cold and rainy in Wisconsin. Blame the jet stream.," 17 June 2019 The sapling on the left is a young box elder tree, which has leaf stems directly across from each other on the branch.
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Caroline Picard, Good Housekeeping, "QUIZ: Can You Identify These Dangerous Summer Plants and Bugs?," 3 Aug. 2018 The mother trees are somewhere else, and the seeds have been brought in by birds (mulberries, hackberries) or the wind (cottonwoods, willows and box elders).
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Neil Sperry, star-telegram, "Volunteering is great but 'volunteer' plants are a whole different story," 1 June 2018 Five types that come up commonly in the beds at our house are cottonwoods, willows, hackberries, mulberries and box elders.
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Neil Sperry, star-telegram, "Volunteering is great but 'volunteer' plants are a whole different story," 1 June 2018 Maple and box elder are the worst offenders at present.
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Ian Livingston, Washington Post, "PM Update: Freeze warning far west and northwest suburbs tonight, then turning clear and milder Wednesday," 17 Apr. 2018
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'box elder.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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Time Traveler for box elder
The first known use of box elder was in 1787
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