The description of this cultivar in the Vertrees-Gregory book says: It is one of the orange-pink spring color cultivars from Japan. The leaves emerge a bright orange-pink with yellow midribs. The fyve- or seven- lobed leaves are divided up to three-quarters way to the leaf base, and have long ovate lobes with distinct toothing This describes well the plant I have. I may add that the leaves turn green starting from the veins. The first pic is dated April 7th, the second April 17th and the third one April 30th. Today the plant is totally green. Van Gelderen, in his book Maples for Gardens, places Beni zuru together with Akane. To me they are quite different in leaf shape as well as colors. While the Beni zuru is all green my Akane is still deep yellow in shade (As shown in the Akane thread). Gomero
Superb spring colour on this cultivar, photographed at Westonbirt in April this year. Very nice, doesn't seem to be widely known or grown in the west. When looking at Japanese websites, Babelfish translates the name as 'Crimson crane', hopefully that is correct.* *(Sometimes Babelfish is too literal, or just plain wonky; for example rather than the accepted translation, 'Sango kaku' instead becomes the somewhat less evocative 'Coral Official Building'.)
