The smooth Japanese maple, scientific name acer palmatum, is a woody plant native to Japan, Korea, China, eastern Mongolia, and southeastern Russia.
Also called Japanese maple or palmate maple, it is a deciduous shrub or small tree that grows 6 to 10 meters tall.
The tree often grows as an understory plant in shady forests, and its leaves are lobed with five, seven, or nine pointed lobes.
The smooth japanese maple gets its species name, palmatum, from its leaf shape, which resembles a hand, similar to the Japanese name kaede which came from the "hand" of a frog, while the momiji is after the "hand" of a baby.
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