Sapindaceae - Botanical Family

Botanical name: Acer japonicum

Common names: Amur maple, Downy Japanese maple, Fullmoon maple

Family: Sapindaceae

Origin: Japan

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Acer japonicum is a small deciduous tree growing to 5-10 m (rarely 15 m) tall, with a trunk up to 40 cm in diameter. In cultivation, it is often only a shrubby tree with multiple trunks joining at ground-level. In autumn, the leaves turn bright orange to dark red.

Botanical name: Acer palmatum

Common names: Japanese maple, Palmate maple, Smooth Japanese maple

Family: Sapindaceae

Origin: Japan

Acer palmatum includes thousands of named cultivars with a variety of forms, colors, leaf types, sizes, and preferred growing conditions. Heights of mature specimens range from 0.5 to 25 m (1.5 to 82 ft), depending on type.

Botanical name: Acer sp.

Common names: Red Maple, Soft Maple

Family: Sapindaceae

Maple is a widespread deciduous tree popular in eastern North America.

Many of its features, especially its leaves, are quite variable in form. Among these features it is best known for its brilliant deep scarlet foliage in autumn. Red Maple is adaptable to a very wide range of site conditions. It can be found growing in swamps, on poor dry soils, and most anywhere in between. Elevation is also not a limiting factor in its range. Due to its attractive fall foliage and pleasing form, it is often used as a shade tree for landscapes. It is used commercially on a small scale for maple syrup production as well as for its medium to high quality lumber. It is the State Tree of Rhode Island. It is very cold hardy.

Maple is a very popular plant in Japan and a subject for bonsai. Autumn in Japan is celebrated with colorful autumn leaves known as momijigari. The foliage of trees light up the Japanese landscape. Scarlet Japanese maples flash against emerald conifers, this is the beauty of momijigari as you view the spectacular colors of changing leaves.

The maples have long been known to be closely related to the family Sapindaceae.

Botanical name: Aesculus californica

Common names: California Buckeye, California Horse-chestnut

Family: Sapindaceae

Origin: California

Aesculus californica is a large deciduous shrub or small tree, up to 4â€"12 m (13â€"39 ft) tall, with gray bark often coated with lichens and mosses. It is used as an ornamental plant for its striking leaf buds, lime green foliage, fragrant white flowers, red-brown foliage in mid to late summer, and architectural silver branches through fall. The tree also acts as a soil binder, which prevents erosion in hilly regions.

The seeds are poisonous. The nectar and pollen of the flowers is toxic to honeybees, so the trees should not be planted near apiaries.