Name That Maple
A couple of people asked me about the specific kind of momiji shown in this photograph. I was on the verge of telling you that it was Acer tenuifolia, but it turns out to be a cultivar of A. palmatum called Aoshidare. A. Palmatum is the most numerous species with about 180 cultivars originating in Japan and quite possibly a similar number developed elsewhere.
The closest Linnaean match I’ve found is probably A. palmatum var. dissectum (from the shape of the leaves) which goes by the “Crimson Queen” moniker. However, the descriptions of Crimson Queen’s autumn colouring don’t really match what I’m seeing here. I went to the Edo-Tokyo outdoor museum of architecture today and saw several beautiful specimens, one of which was labelled “Aoshidare,” so that’s all I’m confident telling you. I doubt, despite very close similarities, that it’s the Crimson Queen cultivar.
Ao means “blue” and shidare means “hanging” (or weeping, as in willow). Obviously this is refering to spring and summer foliage because there’s nothing blue at all about these trees this time of year.
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Posted to MetaStuff • 2003.11.22 (Sat) • 20:59
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