Can you ID this Acer Palmatum?

[sixemkay]

I purchased this tree earlier this summer from a woman on Craigslist. She couldn't remember which type of Japanese Maple it was. What do you think it is?

Thanks in advance


Attached are pictures of: newly opened leaves; whole tree; mature leaf

 

[cbroad]

2nd pic reminds me of 'butterfly' but the other pics really don't.

I have a variegated one that looks like that now, with green and white leaves, but it's new growth is pink, purple, and green. Mine is 'shiraz' or also called 'gwen's rose delight.'

 

[sixemkay]

@cbroad Thank you, I will look those up and see how the pics compare to my tree

 

[rollwithak]

My plant identification app is just having those come back as a Japanese Maple and Acer Palmatum.... and they will usually identify the different specie varieties. So not sure.... Something tells me you won't mind spending the money on a plant identifying app

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

There are thousands of named and published & registered with the Royal Botanic Garden at Kew cultivars of Japanese maple. Just as with a pedigree dog, you loose the papers (name tag or provenance) you just have a mutt. If you purchased this tree at ''generic maple'' price, then you came out good. If you paid a premium because it was a named cultivar, unless the seller can get you the name, you are out of luck.

Identifying it from photographs is not considered ''valid'', there are thousands of named cultivars, many cultivars look very similar. Guessing is not good enough to re-tag the tree return to using the ''pedigreed'' name.

Now if I had to guess, this looks like a Matsumurae type of Acer palmatum, possibly it was 'Grandma's Ghost' or 'Mikazuki' or 'Sister Ghost' It could be a number of other cultivars. The dark central vien, and the pale green then the dark outer edge is a similar pattern, many cultivars have this basic pattern.

one reference to see a bewildering number of different varieties is

All Products - Davidsans Japanese Maples

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Just call it 'Japanese Maple' or Acer palmatum.
The good news is, they all take more or less similar horticulture, and the bonsai techniques used for Japanese maple apply to all Japanese maples. You should have no trouble turning it into an acceptable bonsai.

 

[AlainK]

possibly it was 'Grandma's Ghost' or 'Mikazuki' or 'Sister Ghost' It could be a number of other cultivars.

It could be hundreds of other cultivars. I think unless the person who gave it to you remembers the name of the cultivar, it will be impossible to name it accurately. I have several trees from cuttings, and depending on the soil, the exposure, fertilizers, etc, they can look and grow very differently, yet they're genetically 100% the same, they're clones. So if a plain species can look different but is the same, for such cultivars, giving a name would be like playing the roulette.

 

[rodeolthr]

This appears to be one of the cultivars such as 'Higasayama'. There are a couple others with similar variegation/reticulation. 'Edelweiss' is another that comes to mind.

 

[AlainK]

one of the cultivars such as 'Higasayama'.

... or 'Shaina' : I have one whose leaves look exactly the same at the moment.

 

[WNC Bonsai]

There you go, you have now narrowed it down to one of hundreds of possible varieties!

 

[penumbra]

The leaves all look like they are from different plants. The last one doe's look like Sister Ghost. The middle one looks like Butterfly. I can see those two getting a bit mixed up. The first picture does not at all look like the others. Is it possible that the first picture was taken from growth below the graft?

 

[sixemkay]

And a picture of another totally different looking leaf on this tree....and a branch with a mix of leaves.

 

[0soyoung]

It might be 'Ariadne'.

BTW, the solid green leaves might be 'new-growth' leaves. Some cultivars, such as Higasayama, produce ordinary green palmate leaves on new growth that will be replaced by the variety leaf in the next season. Of course, one can remove these new-growth leaves (as in partial defoliation) and get them replaced in the same growing season. On a bonsai scale, this is practical.