​Boxelder Maple, Ash-leaf Maple, Box Elder,Acer negundo,Soapberry Family (Sapindaceae)

Found in moist areas, stream banks
Seen blooming in April by the Tierra Azul acequia in Abiquiu

These eye-catching flowers belong to the Boxelder Maple, a tree growing 30 to 60 feet tall with a gray-brown furrowed trunk. Unlike most maples which have a single lobed leaf, the leaves are divided into three to seven lobed leaflets. Young leaves are soft and velvety and are very similar in shape and color to Poison Ivy leaves. Old leaves turn yellow in the fall. Male and female flowers grow on separate trees. Tiny yellow-green or pink flowers with long drooping stalks bloom just before the leaves open. The photo shows male pollen-producing flowers. Female flowers mature to a pair of one-seeded samaras with curved wings which grow in drooping clusters. When the samara dries and drops from the tree, it rotates like a helicopter. There is a lovely tree by the pond in El Rito which will be festooned with samaras in June.

The sap has been used to make syrup by Native Americans and the inner bark was boiled until sugar crystallized out of it. The inner bark was scraped and dried for winter use. Sap was mixed with shavings from the inner sides of animal hides and eaten as candy. Wood was burned as incense for making spiritual medicines and a variety of ceremonial uses. It was also used to make bowls, utensils, fuel, musical instruments and pipe stems. Medicinally, a decoction of the inner bark was used as an emetic. Source.

If you are trying to identify a different flower then you can check what other flowers bloom this month. If you cannot identify a flower from the website, send a photo and where you took it to [email protected]. Read online for tips.