Acer cissifolium aka Japanese Box Elder

Acer cissifolium, also known as vine-leafed maple or vineleaf maple, is a deciduous small tree or large shrub native to Japan. It can reach heights of 5-10 meters, occasionally up to 15 meters, with a rounded crown and smooth grey bark. The young shoots are green, sometimes tinged pink, and hairy in their early stages, eventually turning grey. The trifoliate leaves have slender red petioles up to 10 cm long, with three leaflets that are 4-10 cm long and 2-4 cm wide. The leaflets have serrated margins and are matte green on top, paler and slightly shiny underneath. In autumn, they turn pale yellow to pinkish. The tree is dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate trees. The pendulous racemes of flowers can reach lengths of 10-16 cm and consist of four sepals and petals. The fruit is a paired samara, with nutlets measuring 7 mm long and wings spanning 15-25 mm, spreading at an acute angle. The leaves of Acer cissifolium are reminiscent of those of the vine genus Cissus, which inspired its scientific and English names. It is a small, spreading tree, reaching heights of 8 meters and widths of 12 meters. The oval, coarsely-toothed leaflets start off bronze-tinged when young and mature to a dark green color, transitioning to shades of red and yellow in autumn. Tiny yellow flowers appear in racemes up to 10 cm long during spring. The natural range of Acerissifolium is limited to Japan, specifically southern Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku. It thrives in deciduous forests, growing at elevations of 200 to 1300 meters in Honshu's mountains. The tree has a round and wide crown, with dense horizontal branches. The bark on the branches and trunk becomes coarse and gray over time. The tripartite leaves resemble those of certain species of the Maiden Grape genus (Parthenocissus). They are elongated ovoid, pointed, and roughly and sharply serrated along the edges. The leaves are pubescent, light green, and glabrous above. The middle leaflet can reach lengths of 5-10 cm, with a 1-2 cm long petiole, while the lateral leaflets are slightly smaller. Acer cissifolium is dioecious, with small yellow-green flowers appearing after the leaves have opened. The flowers are arranged in erect or hanging downy clusters of 20-50 flowers, each with four sepals and petals. Male flowers possess 4, occasionally 5, stamens, while female flowers lack any stamen rudiments. The fruit consists of paired lionfish with light red wings positioned at acute angles to each other, with strongly curved inward tips. The total length of the winglet, along with the seed, ranges from 2.5 to 3 cm.