Japanese maple, whose scientific name is acer palmatum, is a woody plant native to Japan, Korea, China, eastern Mongolia, and southeastern Russia. .
Also known as palmate maple, or smooth Japanese maple, it is a deciduous shrub or small tree that grows well as an understory plant in shady forests, usually 6 to 10 meters tall.
The leaves have lobes with five, seven, or nine pointed lobes.
The species name "palmatum" comes from its hand-shaped leaves, similar to the centuries-old Japanese names "kaede" and "momiji, which refer to the hands of a "frog" or "baby".
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