Acer maximowiczianum
Nikko Maple

Previously known as:  Acer nikoense
 Plant Type:
 Growth Forms:
 Hardiness:
 Deciduous / Evergreen:
 Flower Notes:
Yellow (Spring; not ornamentally important)
 Foliage Notes:
Bronze (Emerging leaves); Green (Medium green summer foliage); Multi-Colored (Stunning yellow, orange, red, and purple to subdued red fall foliage)
 Fruit Notes:
Brown (Samaras)
 Ultimate Height:
20-30 feet
 Ultimate Spread:
20-30 feet
 Soil Notes:
Well-drained moist loamy soil that is slightly acidic
 Range:
Japan and central China
 Diagnostic Characteristics:
Opposite, trifoliate leaves are 2-5" long with nearly entire, acute leaflets. The middle leaflet is usually the largest. The leaflets are softly pubescent underneath. Flowers usually consist of 3 cymes together on drooping pedicels that are 0.75" long. The 0.5" diameter flowers occur in May as the leaves emerge. Densely pubescent samaras are 1-2" long with wings either being curved inward or at right angles. The stems are angled and prominently lenticelled.

Additional Information

The Nikko Maple is a small, vase-shaped tree that has year-round interest, especially due to its attractive, smooth gray to grayish yellow bark. This tree was discovered in Japan in the 1860s by Carl Johann Maximowicz, hence the specific epithet name; the town of Nikko, Japan contributes to the common name. It is rare in its native habitat today.

Other plants like this Acer maximowiczianum (Nikko Maple)

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