North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Kevin Moore <aleguy33@yahoo.com>]

Sounds like an excellent candidate for coppicing. I don't know much about the box elder's usefulness as a fuel, but I would find it hard to believe that any maple species could be lower in fuel value than willow which is extensively coppiced for fuel wood.

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From: Douglas Woodard <dwoodard@becon.org>
To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Tuesday, March 17, 2009 3:59:36 PM
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Box Elder Sap ( Anthony Curcio )

Here it is known as Manitoba Maple. It is a great pioneer tree, like
poplar and I would't be suprised if it performs a similar nutrient pump
role. However, if you are trying to re-introduce native species to a
landscape it's an appalling pest as it jumps into every available space,
seeding into sod. You have to get on the little ones fast or they will
be a lot of trouble to remove. They sprout freely from every stump and
must be killed dead, not just cut.

Doug Woodard
St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada


Matt Demmon wrote:
> Thank you Anthony for jumping in to rescue the poor Box Elder. Here
> are some of my favorite attributes:
>
> -grows anywhere from Michigan floodplains to New Mexico train stations.
> -delicious sap
> -sometimes beautiful red streaked wood
> -excellent for growing oyster mushrooms
> -fast growth
> -pretty blue stems
> -excellent habitat for insect-eating birds, just the kind you want in
> your fruit orchard.
>
> That's all!
>
> -matt
> se mi z5 60+ degrees today
>
> On Fri, Mar 13, 2009 at 9:39 AM, Anthony Curcio <apc@vassolinc.com> wrote:
>> What kind of product do you get from box elders.  I tap sugar maples
>>
>> with the kids at school.  We have lots of box elders but never tapped them.
>>
>>
>>
>> Jon (Rutland, VT)
>>
>>
>>
>> Jon,
>>
>> We, like many people tried to rid our farm of the “ Weed Tree”. Then one day
>> I saw a beautiful vivid red veined piece of wood in a cabinet maker’s shop.
>> Turned out to be Ash Leaf Maple or “ Box Elder”. Shortly after that
>> encounter my 10 yo son read that Native Indians reduced the sap of the Box
>> Elder to a syrup much like Maple syrup. We built a small wood burning stove,
>> tapped a few Box Elders, had a great time and have never gone back to Sugar
>> Maple syrup. BE syrup has a very nice honey/buttery flavor. I know it is
>> hard to believe but if you can look past the first impression we have found
>> something good in just about everything….
>>
>> Except Mosquitoes…..
>>
>> Anthony
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Anthony P. Curcio
>> CEO
>> VasSol, Inc.
>> 833 W. Jackson 8flr.
>> Chicago, IL 60607
>> Phone- 312-601-4431
>> Fax - 312-601-4451
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