Acer micranthum

Komine maple [pronounced “kou-mee-nay”] is in the soapberry or Sapindaceae family and is native to Japan (except for the island of Hokkaido). It is a small deciduous, sometimes shrubby tree growing to 6–10 meters in height. It is most closely related to Acer tschonoskii which grows further north and at higher altitudes.

It is in the snakebark group of maples identified by: Snakeskin-like bark; buds on stocks, 1 pair of scales; flowers (and double samaras) on pendulous racemes.

• Leaves are opposite, simple, 4–10 cm long and 2–8 cm broad, palmately lobed, with 5 deeply- toothed lobes with long, acuminate tips and double-serrated margins, and 2 distinct tufts of orange-red hairs in the axils of the main veins at the base of the leaf; petiole is 2–5 cm long. Leaves emerge red in the spring and turn red again in the fall.
• Flowers are yellow-green, bell-shaped, up to 0.5 cm long, in long hanging clusters in spring.
• The fruit is a double samara; each wing about 1.5-2 cm long, the two wings spreading almost horizontally from each other.
• Bark is smooth and striped at first, becoming rough and dull gray on mature trees.