Acer Miyabei

Acer miyabei (Miyabe's or Miyabe maple; Japanese: クロビイタヤ: kurobiitaya) is a species of maple native to Japan, where it occurs in Hokkaidō and the Tōhoku region in northern Honshū.It is a small to medium-sized deciduous tree growing to 10–20 m tall, with a trunk 30–40 cm diameter with rough, grey-brown bark. The leaves are five-lobed (the basal pair of lobes usually small), 7–20 cm long and 12–20 cm broad, with a 5–15 cm long petiole; the petiole bleeds white latex if cut. The flowers are produced in spring at the same time as the leaves open, yellow-green, in erect corymbs. The fruit is a samara with two winged seeds aligned at 180°, each seed 8 mm wide, flat, with a 2 cm wing.It is an endangered species, confined to scattered locations close to streams and rivers.There are two varieties: Acer miyabei var. miyabei. Samaras downy. Acer miyabei var. shibatai (Nakai) Hara. Samaras hairless.It is closely related to Acer miaotaiense from China—some authors treat this as a subspecies of A. miyabei, as Acer miyabei subsp. miaotaiense (P.C.Tsoong) E.Murray—and to Acer campestre from Europe.

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