Identification: Maple ID, Yamagata Pref., Japan

Can anyone ID the maple in this pic on Wiki Commons, please? In the mountains east of Yamagata (exact location given on the photo page).

Thanks!

 

@Michael F Good afternoon Michael. Appears to me to be Acer rubrum.

 

Not in the wild in a national park in Japan! Also not with 7-9 lobed leaves ;-)

 

Sorry only saw 5 lobes. And yes very true not in Japan.

 

The best I can come up with is A. sieboldianum, but it's a puzzler! Clearly in Section Palmata, so that limits things as to what is endemic. Does not look like shirasawanum to me.

 

Thanks! Acer sieboldianum looks a fairly good match; I'll go with that unless anyone else can suggest anything different.

 

I had a look at this page that I keep in my bookmarks, and nr 21 (A. ukurunduense) or nr 19 (A. diabolicum), or even nr 16 (A. tschonoskii) could correspond too : the lobes are not as evenly distributed and on each lobe, and the margins look more unevenly dented than in other species.

Species discernment of Japanese maples

 

That's a great site, I think I only have dead links to it. It's for sure not diabolicum or tschonoskii, and I wouldn't have guessed ukutunduense from mine or the ones I've seen; but it does look like the pic in your site Alain, and there is a wide variability in the species. Good guess, though I think sieboldianum is more likely still. ;)

 

Thanks! I'd agree A. sieboldianum is still the best fit; there's a nice pic in Trees & Shrubs Online that matches well on leaf shape, the only difference I can see is that the Commons pic has more obviously serrated lobe margins. This pic at Mendocino Maples does show similar serration though.