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United States / Grow / boxelder

boxelder (Acer negundo)
Photo: no rights reserved (CC0), via iNaturalist. Species-typical, not necessarily this cultivar.

boxelder

Acer negundo · Sapindaceae · all Acer records · Wikipedia

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Is this one for your yard?

Enter your ZIP to see whether this is legal to plant in your state, and whether it survives your winter.

Yes, boxelder is rated fire resistant, with six extension and government sources supporting it as a lower-flammability choice.

The clearest ratings come from Ohio State University Extension and Virginia Cooperative Extension. Boxelder earns a recommendation with a low rating on each scale: Ohio State uses five points; Virginia Cooperative Extension and Virginia Tech use three.

Four other sources reach the same practical conclusion through plant lists rather than graduated ratings. The University of Tennessee Extension identifies boxelder as a Firewise plant, while the Generalitat Valenciana recommends it for low-flammability gardens in the wildland-urban interface. The University of Nevada Cooperative Extension includes it in a compilation requiring favorable treatment by at least two of seven named western sources. The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension lists it among fire-resistant plant materials for Arizona sites above 3,000 feet.

Boxelder is hardy to USDA zone 2a, but Ohio State describes it as disease prone and short-lived. This Sapindaceae tree has a mature height of about 50 feet; it grows in full sun with moderate water. Its native range includes the Southeastern, Southwestern, Northwestern, and Northeastern United States. For landscape selection, the expert ratings and Firewise compilations all support treating boxelder as fire resistant.

Form
tree
Mature height
~50 ft
Light
Full sun
Water need
moderate
Rated in
Arizona above 3,000 feet / interior Southwest; Global; Montana / Northern Rockies; Nevada / Great Basin +7
On this lot

1. Fire evidence and conditions

Fire evidence
Fire-resistant — location does not change the cited classification.
Placement evidence
2 source placement records; source schemes remain separate.
Evidence regions
Arizona above 3,000 feet / interior Southwest; Global; Montana / Northern Rockies; Nevada / Great Basin; Ohio / Midwest; Tennessee; Valencia, Spain / western Mediterranean; Virginia / Mid-Atlantic; Yavapai County, Arizona; eastern US; southern Idaho / Intermountain
Typed publication scope: 8 scopes across 8 cited fire sources
  • Fire Resistance of Plants Master Database · Official scoped edition
    • Southern Idaho (ID footprint); partial normalized coverage · 2013-11-08

      The official database labels itself "For Southern Idaho" and describes Idaho residents at the urban-rangeland interface. FireApproved publishes 419 existing plant owners that cite its scored rows. This bounded Southern Idaho scope is regional context, not statewide coverage or a conclusion that the score transfers unchanged to every Idaho site.

  • Fire-Resistant Plants for Montana Landscapes (MontGuide MT200101AG) · Official scoped edition
    • MT; partial normalized coverage · 2022-04-01

      The April 2022 MontGuide explicitly presents fire-resistant species adapted to Montana. FireApproved publishes 92 exact plant records from the source while retaining excluded genus, family, and unresolved rows; the guide itself says not every listed species grows in every part of the state.

  • Firewise Landscaping (OSU Extension Bulletin 921) · Official scoped edition
    • OH; partial normalized coverage · 2006-03-01

      Ohio State University Extension Bulletin 921 is an Ohio publication that describes Ohio fire seasons and landscape conditions and labels nativity to Ohio. FireApproved publishes 352 exact source-owning plant records from its eight rated tables. This historical publication scope does not assert current extension endorsement or that a listed plant suits every Ohio site.

  • FIREWISE Plant Materials for 3,000 ft. and Higher Elevations (AZ1289) · Official scoped edition
    • Arizona at or above 3,000 feet (AZ footprint); partial normalized coverage · 2011-12-01

      AZ1289 is explicitly limited to Arizona elevations of 3,000 feet and higher. FireApproved publishes 69 exact owners as regional Arizona context, retaining every water and elevation condition. It is never promoted to statewide low-desert guidance or an independent Tier 1 vote.

  • A Compilation of Good Plant Choices for Nevada's High Fire Hazard Areas (SP-05-16) · Official scoped edition
    • NV; partial normalized coverage · 2005-01-01

      University of Nevada Cooperative Extension compiled plants suited to Nevada climate zones and reported favorably by at least two upstream firewise lists. FireApproved publishes 126 exact source owners at Nevada publication scope. The source explicitly makes no independent flammability determination, so these rows remain corroborative.

  • Landscaping Guidelines to Protect Your Home from Wildfire (SP685) · Official scoped edition
    • TN; partial normalized coverage · 2006-10-24

      University of Tennessee Extension SP685 is Tennessee landscape guidance and publishes 78 represented plant owners. Most table rows are a carrier of Virginia Firescapes rather than an independent rating; Tennessee source scope does not change that lineage or establish site suitability.

  • Virginia Firescapes — Firewise Landscaping for Woodland Homes (430-300) · Official scoped edition
    • VA; partial normalized coverage · 2009-04-15

      Virginia Cooperative Extension's publication opens with Virginia wildfire conditions, identifies its Virginia Firewise Landscaping Task Force, and labels plants native to Virginia. FireApproved publishes 306 exact source owners. Publication scope does not establish parcel suitability or current endorsement of this archived 2009 list.

  • Fire-Resistant and Fire-Prone Plants Common to Yavapai County (Bulletin 34) · Official scoped edition
    • Yavapai County (AZ footprint); partial normalized coverage · 2025-03-14

      University of Arizona Cooperative Extension authors Bulletin 34 for Yavapai County. FireApproved publishes 198 exact source owners from its resistant and prone tables and keeps the county boundary visible. County publication scope is regional Arizona context, never statewide scope.

2. Why this plant is relevant here

State distribution
Documented in AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY.
Native range
Current cited native range in AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY.
USDA hardiness
Documented minimum 2a; no upper limit is documented.

3. Legal, ecological, and broader status

How to read this page

The status above is computed from the cited rows below: independent recommendations can support a fire-resistant result, an avoid row can produce keep-away, and disagreement stays visible as conflict. Placement notes preserve each source’s own scheme rather than translating unlike rules into one scale. This is evidence about a plant, not permission to plant it in every part of the defensible space; Zone 0 remains noncombustible.

Native and introduced range evidence

These are exact U.S. botanical-area records from the cited range source. Native and introduced describe biogeographic relationship, not fire performance or planting approval. Doubtful and extinct rows stay visible but do not count as current presence.

Current native

49

exact source areas

Current introduced

0

exact source areas

Qualified

0

doubtful or extinct source rows

49 native source areas · World Checklist of Vascular Plants, version 16 v16, as of 2026-06-04
  • Alabama (AL)
  • Arkansas (AR)
  • Arizona (AZ)
  • California (CA)
  • Colorado (CO)
  • Connecticut (CT)
  • District of Columbia (DC)
  • Delaware (DE)
  • Florida (FL)
  • Georgia (GA)
  • Iowa (IA)
  • Idaho (ID)
  • Illinois (IL)
  • Indiana (IN)
  • Kansas (KS)
  • Kentucky (KY)
  • Louisiana (LA)
  • Massachusetts (MA)
  • Maryland (MD)
  • Maine (ME)
  • Michigan (MI)
  • Minnesota (MN)
  • Missouri (MO)
  • Mississippi (MS)
  • Montana (MT)
  • North Carolina (NC)
  • North Dakota (ND)
  • Nebraska (NE)
  • New Hampshire (NH)
  • New Jersey (NJ)
  • New Mexico (NM)
  • Nevada (NV)
  • New York (NY)
  • Ohio (OH)
  • Oklahoma (OK)
  • Oregon (OR)
  • Pennsylvania (PA)
  • Rhode I. (RI)
  • South Carolina (SC)
  • South Dakota (SD)
  • Tennessee (TN)
  • Texas (TX)
  • Utah (UT)
  • Virginia (VA)
  • Vermont (VT)
  • Washington (WA)
  • Wisconsin (WI)
  • West Virginia (WV)
  • Wyoming (WY)

The lossless worldwide derivative is retained once in the research corpus; object pages repeat only exact U.S. areas needed by the local lens. The JSON twin carries the same page assertions.

Plant hardiness evidence

These values describe the plant source. Your ZIP zone comes from the separate 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map. Whole-zone values stay whole-zone, and a single unresolved value is not treated as a tolerance range. Different source boundaries stay separate: overlapping statements are compared independently, while only ranges with no shared zone are called a conflict.

Where its sources say to plant it

Placement rules below use each source's own distances or named zones, tied to its rating. They are not interchangeable with the directory's current Zone 0 guidance.

The evidence

Grouped by what each source concluded. Primary evidence rated the plant itself (a lab, field program, or original curation); corroboration compiled or republished another source's rating and resolves to its root lineage.

Recommends (8)

Corroboration (4 rows from 4 sources)

Mid-scale / conditional (2)

Listed without a rating (7)
Corroboration (7 rows from 1 source)

  • FLAMITS: FLAMmability plant traiTS database — Dryad / Global Ecology and Biogeography · Dryad version 9 · original source Corroboration Trait database lineage: meta-aggregator

    7 cited rows from this source; its identity, lineage and tier are stated once.

    • Primary study Salvo2015: Salvo-Aires, F. (2015). Effects of woody weeds on fuels and fire behaviour in Eastern Australian forests and woodlands. PhD. Dissertation. University of Sydney.

      Shared row context: plant part leaves; fuel live; predrying yes; device calorimeter; site Salvo2015-1; sampling ND.

      • “time to flaming (s): 44”

        FLAMITS record 11640; Ignitability measurement.

      • Shared measurement context: Combustibility measurement.

        • “maximum energy flux (kW/m²): 149”

          FLAMITS record 11677.

        • “mass loss rate (g/s): 0.13”

          FLAMITS record 11751.

        • “calorific value (kcal/kg): 3303.23”

          FLAMITS record 11825.

        • “energy flux (kW/m²): 122”

          FLAMITS record 11862.

      • “flaming duration (s): 39”

        FLAMITS record 11714; Sustainability measurement.

      • “burnt biomass (%): 87”

        FLAMITS record 11788; Consumability measurement.

Same genus in the directory · the Acer group page

Last verified 2026-08-23. JSON (CC BY 4.0)

Profiles: USDA PLANTS · GBIF · iNaturalist · Wikidata · Wikipedia · ITIS

Acer negundo (Boxelder). FireApproved. https://fireapproved.com/plants/acer-negundo/. Last verified 2026-08-23.