Maple pollen allergy
Acer
Maples grow in nearly every state, and red maple is one of the first trees to flower each spring. AAFA rates box elder, a maple, as very allergenic.
What it is
Maple pollen comes from trees in the genus Acer. Maples grow in every state except Alaska and Hawaii.1 University of Illinois Extension lists maple among the allergenic trees, alongside elm, birch, ash and oak.4
Two native maples are especially widespread. Red maple is one of the most widely distributed trees in eastern North America and one of the first trees to flower in early spring.3 Box elder, Acer negundo, is also a maple, and it is the most widely distributed of all the North American maples.2 AAFA describes box elder as a type of maple that is very allergenic.1
Box elder is dioecious: male and female flowers usually grow on separate trees, though working flowers with both parts have been reported. Its flowers are pollinated by wind.2 Wind-carried pollen is the only kind of tree pollen that most people with tree allergies react to.1
Symptoms it causes
Like other allergy-causing pollen, maple pollen can trigger hay fever, also called allergic rhinitis, when it gets into the body.6 Common symptoms of a tree pollen allergy include a runny or stuffy nose, postnasal drip, sneezing, an itchy nose, eyes, ears and mouth, and red, watery or swollen eyes. Some people also cough, wheeze or feel short of breath.1
If you have asthma and are allergic to tree pollen, the pollen can trigger your asthma symptoms.1 People with asthma may be more sensitive to pollen.6 Hay fever symptoms generally end once exposure to the pollen ends.5
Where and when it grows
Red maple is one of the first trees to flower, and its flowers generally appear several weeks before its leaf buds.3 Across the US, trees as a group release the most pollen from February through April, and in the South they can start as early as December or January.1 Red maple’s timing runs south to north: January to May on the Gulf and Atlantic coasts, January to March in North and South Carolina, February in Texas, February and March in the Blue Ridge Mountains, March and April in Maryland, late April to early May in Michigan, and mid-May to early June in Massachusetts.3
Box elder flowers with or before its leaves, from March to May depending on location.2 It ranges from coast to coast. In the East it grows from New York to central Florida and west to southern Texas, and it extends northwest through the Plains. Farther west it grows along watercourses in the middle and southern Rocky Mountains and on the Colorado Plateau, and in California’s Central Valley and Coast Range valleys.2
Symptoms it can cause
- Can allergies cause sneezing?
- Can allergies cause a runny nose?
- Can allergies cause sinus pressure?
- Can allergies cause itchy eyes?
- Can allergies cause watery eyes?
- Can allergies cause red eyes?
- Can allergies cause swollen eyelids?
- Can allergies cause an itchy throat?
- Can allergies cause a sore throat?
- Can allergies cause a cough?
- Can allergies make your ears feel full?
- Can allergies make you tired?
Related conditions
When to get help
See an allergist if
- Allergy symptoms last for several months of the year
- Allergies bring repeated sinus problems, a blocked nose or trouble breathing
- Over-the-counter remedies don’t control your symptoms
- Allergies or asthma get in the way of daily life
- You often wheeze, cough at night or after exercise, or feel short of breath
Based on ACAAI’s “When To See an Allergist”. General information, not medical advice.
Questions
Is box elder a maple?
Yes. Box elder, Acer negundo, is one of the most widespread and best known maples, and the most widely distributed maple in North America.2
Are there male and female box elder trees?
Yes. Box elder is dioecious: male and female flowers usually grow on separate trees, though working flowers with both parts have been reported. The female flowers hang in drooping clusters and are pollinated by wind.2
When do maples flower?
Early. Red maple is one of the first trees to flower in spring, several weeks before its leaf buds open, and it can start as early as January in the Southeast.3
Sources
- Tree Pollen Allergy. Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. Read on October 15, 2026.
- Boxelder. USDA Forest Service, Silvics of North America. Read on October 15, 2026.
- Acer rubrum, red maple. USDA Forest Service, Fire Effects Information System. Read on October 15, 2026.
- Allergenic Plants. University of Illinois Extension. Read on October 15, 2026.
- Spring Allergies. American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. Read on October 15, 2026.
- Allergens and Pollen. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Read on October 15, 2026.