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Acer palmatum

Common name: Japanese Maple Family: Aceraceae
Author: Thunb. Botanical references: 11, 58, 200
Synonyms: Acer polymorphum (Siebold.&Zucc.)
Known Hazards: None known
Range: E. Asia - Japan
Habitat: Woods and thickets in a wide range of soils and exposures in lowland and mountains to 3000 metres in C. and S. Japan[58, 200].
Edibility Rating (1-5): 2Medicinal Rating (1-5):0

Other Possible Synonyms:From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
A. palmatum f. sanguineum[G] A. palmatum var. atropurpureum[G] A. palmatum var. dissectum[G] A. sanguineum[G]
Other Common Names:From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
Japanese Maple [H,DEN1,B,P],
Epithets:From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
acer = sharp, pungent; palmatum = hand like;
Systematics:From a USDA Plants Database
Order: Sapindales. Maple family

Physical Characteristics

A decidious tree growing to 8m by 6m . It is hardy to zone 5 and is frost tender. It is in flower from May to June. The flowers are monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant). We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in heavy clay soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very acid soil. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Secondary, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge.

Edible Uses

Leaves; Sap.

The sap contains a certain amount of sugar and can either be used as a drink, or can be concentrated into a syrup by boiling off the water[105, 177, 183]. The syrup is used as a sweetener on many foods. The concentration of sugar is considerably lower than in the sugar maples (A. saccharum). The tree trunk is tapped in the early spring, the sap flowing better on warm sunny days following a frost. The best sap production comes from cold-winter areas with continental climates.
Leaves - cooked[105, 177, 179]. We have eaten nicer leaves[K].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

Preservative.

The leaves are packed around apples, rootcrops etc to help preserve them[18, 20].

Cultivation details

Of easy cultivation, it succeeds in most soils preferring a good moist well-drained soil on the acid side and partial shade[11, 182]. Grows well in heavy clay soils. Chlorosis can sometimes develop as a result of iron deficiency when the plants are grown in alkaline soils, but in general maples are not fussy as to soil pH. Requires some shelter in the cooler areas of Britain and protection from cold drying winds[1].
Plants are hardy to about -25°c[184], but spring growth is subject to damage by late frosts[11].
A very ornamental tree[1], it is a polymorphic species[1] and there are many named varieties[11, 182].
Grows well with rhododendrons.
Most maples are bad companion plants, inhibiting the growth of nearby plants[18, 20].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame, it usually germinates in the following spring. Pre-soak stored seed for 24 hours and then stratify for 2 - 4 months at 1 - 8°c. It can be slow to germinate. The seed can be harvested 'green' (when it has fully developed but before it has dried and produced any germination inhibitors) and sown immediately. It should germinate in late winter. If the seed is harvested too soon it will produce very weak plants or no plants at all[80, 113]. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on until they are 20cm or more tall before planting them out in their permanent positions.
Layering, which takes about 12 months, is successful with most species in this genus.
Cuttings of young shoots in June or July. The cuttings should have 2 - 3 pairs of leaves, plus one pair of buds at the base. Remove a very thin slice of bark at the base of the cutting, rooting is improved if a rooting hormone is used. The rooted cuttings must show new growth during the summer before being potted up otherwise they are unlikely to survive the winter. Only strong-growing cultivars succeed from cuttings, plants of the dissected or variegated cultivars will rarely grow into good plants.

Cultivars

''
There are many named forms for this species, but these have been developed for their ornamental value and not for their other uses. Unless you particularly require the special characteristics of any of these cultivars, we would generally recommend that you grow the natural species for its useful properties. We have, therefore, not listed the cultivars in this database[K].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Web References

References for acer palmatum (a possible synonym).

References for the family Aceraceae.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[18] Philbrick H. and Gregg R. B. Companion Plants. Watkins 1979
Details of beneficial and antagonistic relationships between neighbouring plants.

[20] Riotte. L. Companion Planting for Successful Gardening. Garden Way, Vermont, USA. 1978 ISBN 0-88266-064-0
Fairly good.

[58] Ohwi. G. Flora of Japan. (English translation) Smithsonian Institution 1965
The standard work. Brilliant, but not for the casual reader.

[80] McMillan-Browse. P. Hardy Woody Plants from Seed. Grower Books 1985 ISBN 0-901361-21-6
Does not deal with many species but it is very comprehensive on those that it does cover. Not for casual reading.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[113] Dirr. M. A. and Heuser. M. W. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press 1987 ISBN 0942375009
A very detailed book on propagating trees. Not for the casual reader.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[179] Reid. B. E. Famine Foods of the Chiu-Huang Pen-ts'ao. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre 1977
A translation of an ancient Chinese book on edible wild foods. Fascinating.

[182] Thomas. G. S. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray 1992 ISBN 0-7195-5043-2
Contains a wide range of plants with a brief description, mainly of their ornamental value but also usually of cultivation details and varieties.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[184] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Shrubs. Pan Books 1989 ISBN 0-330-30258-2
Excellent photographs and a terse description of 1900 species and cultivars.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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