Here is a friends very vigorous Acer palmatum 'Germaine's Gyration'. From what I here it is very similar to a dissectum called 'Contorta'.
This is a cultivar that has been a continuned quest for me. The one pictured is not the first one I have owned but it is the one most like the tree pictured by Iseli. It is the overall size of the leaves and the way the coarse lobes raidiate from the petiole that give the tree a graceful open appearance. Many dissectums hold their leaves down with the lobes close or overlapping, in this case we have the opposit. I will have to see about the twisting and contortedness with age. This tree is probably beginning its 3rd season. Here is a helpful link to this plant online at Iseli. Use the link below and select Acer palmatum dissectum 'Germaine's Gyration' from the drop down list in the upper right hand corner of the page. http://www.iseli-nursery.com/
Here is a link to the Acer palmatum 'Contorta' thread in the gallery started by Brad: http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=2635 His tree seems likely to be the same as the what was sold to me as Germaine's Gyration.
