Acer shirasawanum
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 Newly-formed Acer shirasawanum leaves emerging in the spring
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| Acer shirasawanum Koidz. |
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Acer japonicum subsp. shirasawanum Acer japonicum var. microphyllum Siesmayer<>/small |
Acer shirasawanum (English: Japanese or Fullmoon maple) is a species of maple native to the Japanese islands of Hokkaidō and Honshū. Individuals cultivated as A. japonicum var. microphyllum are actually A. shirasawanum trees, although some authorities (especially horticultural ones) still use this classification.[1] The species was also formarly classified as A. japonicum subsp. shirasawanum. Many species in cultivation are mislabelled.[2]
A. shirasawanum is a large shrub or small tree growing to 8-15 m tall with a trunk up to 50 cm diameter. The leaves are 5-12 cm long and broad, palmately veined and lobed, with 7-11 shallowly incised lobes; the overall outline nearly round (hence the common name "Fullmoon"). They turn a mix of gold, orange, and red in autumn. The flowers are purplish-red, produced in terminal corymbs in early spring before the leaves; the fruit is a pair of samaras, the seeds 5-10 mm diameter, with 2-2.5 cm long wings.
In addition to a number of cultivars, two varieties of Fullmoon maple are recognized: A. shirasawanum subsp. shirasawanum and A. shirasawanum subsp. tenuifolium.[2]
[edit] Cultivation and uses
It is grown as an ornamental tree in gardens for its foliage and fall colour, but is seen far less commonly than the closely-related Japanese Maple (A. palmatum). In cultivation, the lighter-coloured A. shirasawanum cultivar 'Aureum' is more common than the main species and is propagated by grafting onto more hardy and fast-growing Acer species, A. palmatum and A. japonicum in particular. [2]
[edit] References
- Germplasm Resources Information Network: Acer japonicum
- Huxley, A., ed. (1992). New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. Macmillan.
