Botanical Name – Acer palmatum ‘Samidare’ Common Name – Samidare Japanese maple

Location – Just west of the zigzag bridge in Area Q. (Photos by Aleks Monk) 

Acer palmatum ‘Samidare’ is a Japanese maple notable for its uniquely beautiful fall color. In spring, leaves emerge almost pink but quickly turn deep green with light reddish margins. Autumn brings the striking leaf colors and patterning that characterize this cultivar—varying blends of gold, crimson and purple. Many leaves display a subtle pattern of gold-green centers and red-purple lobes. 

This lovely cultivar has broad, palm-shaped leaves that are large (about three inches long and up to five inches wide) and thick textured. They consist of seven (occasionally five) lobes with very finely toothed edges and blunt tips. The lobes are divided less than halfway to the center and radiate outward—unlike the downward angle of many maple leaf lobes. 

Our tree was included in a major maple collection donated to the Washington Park Arboretum in 1966. It was planted in the Garden in April 1971. 

‘Samidare’ is a vigorous, sturdy, and durable tree, hardy to USDA Zone 6 (minimum temperature -10 degrees Fahrenheit). Its size at maturity (20-25 years) is about 20 feet tall and wide. Created in Japan, it was mentioned in the maple list of 1882. The word samidare (“early spring rain”) is a reference to Japan’s heavy rains in the month of June. 

Utagawa Hiroshige (Japanese, 1797–1858). Maple Trees at Mama, Tekona Shrine and Linked Bridge, No. 94 from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo; woodblock print. (image: Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Anna Ferris)