''Acer cissifolium'' (vine-leafed maple, vineleaf maple, and variations thereof; ja, ミツデカエデ, translit=mitsudekaede) is a

maple ''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since http ...

native to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, from southern

Hokkaidō is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

south through

Honshū , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separa ...

and

Shikoku is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), '' ...

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surround ...

.Yamaguchi prefecture ecology
''Acer cissifolium''
(in Japanese

It is a

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

small

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

or large

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

growing to 5–10 m (rarely 15 m) in height, with smooth grey bark. The young shoots are green, often tinged pink, hairy at first with whitish hairs, becoming grey in the second year. The

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

are trifoliate, with a very slender red petiole up to 10 cm long; the three leaflets are 4–10 cm long and 2–4 cm broad, with 1–2 cm petiolules, and coarsely serrated margins. They are matte green above, paler and slightly shiny below, and turn pale yellow to pinkish in autumn. The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s are produced in pendulous

raceme A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...

s 10–16 cm long, each flower with four sepals and petals; it is

dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...

with male and female flowers on separate trees. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

is a paired

samara Samara ( rus, Сама́ра, p=sɐˈmarə), known from 1935 to 1991 as Kuybyshev (; ), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara (Volga), Samara rivers, with ...

, the nutlets are 7 mm long, the wings 15–25 mm long, spreading at an acute angle.van Gelderen, C. J. & van Gelderen, D. M. (1999). ''Maples for Gardens: A Color Encyclopedia''.Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britain and Europe''. Collins .Mitchell, A. F. (1982). ''The Trees of Britain and Northern Europe''. Collins Both the scientific and English names refer to the resemblance of its leaves to those of ''

Cissus ''Cissus'' is a genus of approximately 350 species of lianas (Woody plant, woody vines) in the grape family (Vitaceae). They have a cosmopolitan distribution, though the majority are to be found in the tropics. Uses Medicinal ''Cissus quadrang ...

'', a genus in the vine family.

Cultivation

This maple is common in cultivation although few

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...

s are known. A

variegated Variegation is the appearance of differently coloured zones in the leaves and sometimes the stems and fruit of plants. Species with variegated individuals are sometimes found in the understory of tropical rainforests, and this habitat is the s ...

cultivar 'Gotenbanishiki' has been selected in Japan.Ganshukutei Botanic Garden
''Acer cissifolium'' 'Gotenbanishiki'
(in Japanese

Female trees are often propagated by

layering Layering has evolved as a common means of vegetative propagation of numerous species in natural environments. Layering is also utilized by horticulturists to propagate desirable plants. Natural layering typically occurs when a branch touches ...

and sold in the nursery trade. ''Acer cissifolium'' is similar to its closest relative '' A. henryi'' (rare in cultivation) and its close relative '' A. negundo'' (common in cultivation with many cultivars). It may be distinguished from the former by its shoots turning grey in their second year (remaining green for several years in ''A. henryi''), and from the latter by its consistently trifoliate leaves, never with the five leaflets common in ''A. negundo''. Mislabeling occurs between these three species.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q481767 cissifolium Endemic flora of Japan Trees of Japan Dioecious plants