A small tree, or large shrub of bushy habit; branchlets glabrous. Leaves up to 31⁄2 in. long, 21⁄2 in. wide, three-lobed, slightly heart-shaped or truncate at the base, margins angularly toothed; nearly, or quite glabrous on both surfaces, bright dark green above; the lobes are ovate, with the middle one much the longest; leaf-stalk and midrib reddish. Flowers yellowish white, in small panicles, very fragrant, appearing in May. Fruit glabrous; keys 1 in. long; wings 1⁄3 in. wide, nearly parallel.
Native of China, Manchuria, and Japan; first introduced by way of St Petersburg. This maple is nearly allied to A. tataricum, but differs markedly in the shape of the leaf. The foliage turns a beautiful red in early autumn, but often drops so soon after colouring that the effect is rather fleeting.
var. semenowii (Reg. & Herd.) Pax A. semenowii Reg. & Herd. – A geographical form found farther to the west, in Turkestan. Its leaves are smaller, sometimes five-lobed, and the wings of the fruit are more divergent.