Acer argutum

Pointed-leaf maple or asano kaede in Japanese, is in the soapberry or Sapindaceae family and is native to woodlands and mountainous areas of Honshu and Shikoku Islands of Japan. It has an upright growth habit and can reach 10 m in height.

• Young branches are covered with a fine down.
• Leaves are deciduous, simple, opposite, 5–10 cm long, slender stocks, 5-lobed, with ovate, long-pointed lobes; margins are doubly-toothed; lower surface is downy, especially on the whitish veins.
• Flowers are produced in April and May and are 5-stellate, produced in clusters of racemes before the leaves; colour is greenish-yellow, with racemes downy. Stocks of the inflorescences and of the individual flowers lengthen considerably as the fruits develop.
• Samaras are about 2.2 cm long, 6 mm wide, spreading horizontally.