Acer shirawasanum

Fullmoon maple or Shirasawa’s maple is in the soapberry or Sapindaceae family and is native to Japan on mountain forests on some of the main islands of Japan (central and southern Honshū, Kyūshū and Shikoku). It is a large shrub or small tree, reaching up to 15 m in height.

• Bark is smooth on young and old trees; shoots are slender and hairless.
• Leaves are deciduous, simple, opposite, rounded, 4.5–8 cm long and 6–12 cm across, palmate with (7)9–13 lobes, edges serrated; leaves are mid to dark green on top, lighter green underneath; petiole is greenish, 3–7 cm long and hairless; autumn colour is bright gold, orange or dark red.
• Species is andromonoecious (inflorescences contain flowers with either both sexes or male); flowers are 1 cm in diameter, 5-merous, white flowers and red stamens, 10-20 together in erect corymbs in early spring soon after the leaves appear.
• The fruit is a paired samara with nutlets 5-10 mm in diameter, a wing 2–2.5 cm long and bright red in colour, maturing brown.