Acer micranthum

Acer micranthum, the small-leaved maple,[2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Sapindaceae in the snakebark maple group, native to Japan, on Honshū, Kyūshū and Shikoku. Its Japanese name is the Komine maple (Japanese: コミネカエデ, Hepburn: Kominekaede).[3][4][5][6][7][8][9]

Acer micranthum
Shoot with fruits
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Sapindaceae
Genus: Acer
Section: Acer sect. Macrantha
Species:
A. micranthum
Binomial name
Acer micranthum

It is a small, sometimes shrubby tree growing 6–10 m (20–33 ft) tall, with slender, arching branches. The bark is smooth and striped at first, becoming rough and dull grey on mature trees. The shoots and winter buds are dark purple-red. The leaves are 4–10 cm long and 2–8 cm broad, palmately lobed, with five deeply toothed lobes with long acuminate tips and double-serrated margins, and with distinctive tufts of orange-red hairs in the main vein axils at the base of the leaf; the petiole is 2–5 cm long. The leaves emerge red in spring and turn shades of yellow, orange and red[2] in autumn. The flowers are produced in early summer in racemes 4–10 cm long, each flower 4 mm diameter, with five yellow to greenish-yellow sepals and petals; it is dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate trees. The fruit is a paired samara with two rounded nutlets, each with a wing 1.5–2 cm long; the two wings spreading almost horizontally from each other.[3][4][5][6][8][10][11]

It is most closely related to Acer tschonoskii, which replaces it further north and at higher altitudes in Japan; they have very similar leaf form.[8]

Acer micranthum is cultivated as an ornamental tree in European and North American gardens, and has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.[2][12] Though hardy down to −20 °C (−4 °F), it requires a sheltered position in neutral or acid soil with sun or partial shade.

References

  1. The International Plant Names Index
  2. "Acer micranthum". www.rhs.org. RHS. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  3. Kobe city: Acer micranthum Archived 2007-11-30 at the Wayback Machine (in Japanese; google translation)
  4. Kanagawa Prefecture trees and shrubs: Acer micranthum Archived 2012-03-23 at the Wayback Machine (in Japanese; google translation). Archived 2009-10-24.
  5. Okayama science university: Acer micranthum (in Japanese; google translation)
  6. Kanon tree book: Acer micranthum (in Japanese; google translation)
  7. Maple World: Maples of Japan Archived April 2, 2004, at the Wayback Machine
  8. Maple World: Komine-kaede Archived 2013-01-04 at archive.today
  9. "Acer micranthum". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  10. Ishikawa prefecture forestry research institute: Kominekaede Archived May 17, 2008, at the Wayback Machine (in Japanese; google translation)
  11. Kota's Nature Photo Gallery: Acer micranthum Archived November 20, 2007, at the Wayback Machine (in Japanese; google translation)
  12. "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). www.rhs.org. Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 1. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
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