Leaf
Liliane Roubaudi, Tela Botanica · CC BY-SA 2.0
Japanese maple
Acer palmatum Thunb.
Family: Sapindaceae
3 to 8 m tall depending on variety
Planted as a specimen in Japanese gardens and borders, cool, well-drained soils
Flowering: April – May, inconspicuous
Part shade
Full sun
Hardy, to about -20°C, but dislikes scorching sun and drying winds
❓ How do you recognise this plant?
Japanese maple comes in more than a thousand horticultural varieties, with extremely varied leaf colours and leaf shapes — one of the tree species most worked on by plant breeders worldwide.
🍃 Leaves
Deciduous, deeply palmate with 5-9 lobes, turning blazing red, orange or purple in autumn
🌸 Flowers
Small, reddish, barely visible, grouped in small cymes
🍎 Fruits
Winged double samara typical of maples, often tinged with red
🪵 Bark
Grey to reddish-brown, smooth
🗺️ Distribution
Native to Japan, Korea and China; very widely planted in France as an ornamental
🐝 Value for pollinators
Small flowers, slightly nectar-rich, visited by a few insects in spring
✂️ Horticultural uses
Emblematic ornamental tree of Japanese gardens, available in very many varieties with purple, green or finely cut foliage
⚠️ Possible toxicity
No notable known toxicity
🌱 Known cultivars
Bloodgood
The best-selling Japanese maple cultivar: deep purple foliage that holds all season (unlike other varieties that turn green in summer), rounded habit reaching 4-5 m.
Dissectum Garnet
Dwarf, weeping variety with finely cut garnet-red foliage (a lace-like look), typical of Japanese maples grown in pots or small Japanese-style gardens.
Sango-kaku
Sought after for its brilliant coral-red bark in winter when the tree is bare; golden-yellow foliage in autumn. Very widely planted for winter interest.
🌿 Other Sapindaceae to discover
ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.
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