Does anybody know if "Acer palmatum Crispifolium" is a real cultivar name or just a synonym of Shishigashira ? I found both answers on the Internet. You can see the crispifolium here : http://www.maillot-bonsai.com/catalogue.asp?id=12&p=19 Thank you
Hi, There is no mention of Crispifolium in Vertrees' book. However I did do a search on that website and found Shishigashira: http://www.maillot-bonsai.com/catalogue.asp?id=12&p=75 It *could* be a new European cultivar. Or, perhaps more likely a generic term for a Shishigashira-like tree....similar to what "Acer palmatum f. atropupureum" or "Acer palmatum linearilobum" is to red seedlings or thread leaf seedlings. Any body else know about this one? Layne
If it's a new (post-1959) cultivar name then it's "illegitmate", being pseudo-botanical. Maybe it's a mistake for 'Crispa' or 'Crispum', both synonyms for 'Okushimo' as well as 'Shishigashira'. The current Vertrees lists 'Crispifolium' in Appendix D - Cultivar Names Not Elsewhere Described.
On a bonsai forum, someone told me that according to him, my 'Sishigashira' was a 'Crispifolium'. I replied that I thought it was just a different name for the same cultivar after reading this thread and searching the web. Most nurseries list them as synonyms. But other people said they have had both and that to them they are different. Here are the photos they sent me. I'm still a bit skeptical: maybe they come from different plants, with only slight variations, or maybe the rootstock can influence their growth. Note also that the link Andre gave in 2005 is not valid any longer, it's not on Maillot's catalogue any more.
Crispifolium does exist. I had my tree for over 20 years and it was about 12 years old when I purchased it from Henderson Experimental Gardens. The sourcing for the old plant in the nursery came from a well known nursery in England through Raraflora nursery and then shipped West. At one time Esveld had this Maple as well. This European form, not of Japanese origin, and indeed was around long before the 1950's, differs from Shishigashira in that there are no whorls at or near the apical tips unlike true Shishigashira - see photo in the second edition Japanese Maples book to see what these whorls look like. This Maple can be distinguished by the leaf shape which is a more palmate shape with a broader and more cupped "hand" (palm) to the leaf. Also, the lobes are noticeably shorter in length to a bona fide Shishigashira with less crinkle to the palm of the hand and lobes. Fall colors, similar yet different as well to Mejishi, range from multi-toned golds with orange-bronze highlights with some splashes of red with the most distinct coloration seen nearer the center of the leaf. What will confuse people is that Crispifolium has more of an upright growth habit much the same as Mejishi (see Esveld web site Mei jishi photos) which differs from the round headed, less tall, less willowy and much more compact growing O jishi. Jm
Thanks a lot, Jim. As we say, "Je me coucherai moins bête ce soir" (I'll go to bed less stupid tonight ;°) )