Miyabe Maple - Acer miyabei

These Miyabe Maples at the Morton Arboretum were started from seeds in 1932. Accession 550-32*12

Miyabe Maple is an outstanding specimen tree, featuring crisp, dark green summer foliage, and an appealing upright rounded habit with a wide crown. This tree likes full sun and grows best in moist, well-drained soils. Tolerant of mild drought, prefers slightly acid soil. Relatively short-lived fall color is a spectacular, vibrant butter-yellow to golden-yellow, depending on temperature changes and site conditions. [1]

Accession 550-32*10, fall colors	Accession 550-32*11
Accession 550-32*12	Accession 550-32*13

Miyabe Maple foliage and fruits
The five-pointed leaflet is reminiscent of Sweet Gum - Liquidambar styraciflua .
Maples are famous for their winged fruits, called samaras (but more commonly called helicopters or whirligigs).

Miyabe Maple Fall Foliage
Fall colors are spectacular, vibrant butter-yellow to golden-yellow.

Chicagoland Grows, a partnership between the Chicago Botanic Garden and The Morton Arboretum, reports a cultivar of the Miyabe, trade name 'State Street', is a cold-hardy alternative to hedge maple, A. campestre, and more resitant to heat and drought than Norway Maple.
Miyabe Maple resplendent in butter yellow fall foliage
Accession 550-32*14 on October 19, 2009 resplendent in butter yellow fall foliage

References

Colin Tudge, The Tree: A Natural History of What Trees Are, How They Live, and Why They Matter, Reprint (Three Rivers Press, 2007).
NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY, National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees--E: Eastern Region, Chanticleer Press Ed (Knopf, 1980).
Miyabe Maples, Morton Arboretum accessions 550-32*10, 11, 12, 13, &14 photographed by Bruce Marlin

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