Bonsai Encyclopedia

A 'rough-bark' maple whose trunk roughens even when young, quickly giving the look of an old tree. The bark alone tells it apart from the smooth-barked ordinary maple, so even young material can look aged.

A dwarf, small-leaved maple with a beautiful spring flush: young leaves are edged red-purple, turn green in summer and colour yellow, orange and red in autumn. It spreads wider than tall with dense branching—a staple for shohin maples.

An extremely dwarf maple with tiny leaves and very short internodes—a representative yatsubusa maple. It builds dense, finely branched trees even in tiny pots, making it a staple for shohin and mame bonsai, and roots readily from cuttings.

A deciduous hornbeam whose new shoots, young leaves and autumn foliage flush red. Called 'aka-soro' in bonsai, it has the smallest leaves and finest twigs among the hornbeams, offering interest from spring budbreak to winter silhouette.

A maple whose young shoots turn brilliant coral in autumn and winter. Only first- and second-year growth colours; older wood fades. The red twigs after leaf fall are the highlight, and it is sold both as bonsai and as a garden tree.

A 'spring maple' of the iroha-momiji group, whose new leaves emerge red and colour well again in autumn. Small-leaved and offering two seasons of colour, it is regularly sold as shohin to medium maple bonsai.

A yatsubusa maple famed for its leaf character: small, thick, crinkled leaves crowded at the shoot tips. Its unusual foliage sets it apart from ordinary Japanese maples at a glance.

A wild maple common in mountains on the Sea of Japan side, with leaves a little larger than iroha-momiji and cut into 7–9 lobes. Vigorous, fast-growing and easy from seed, it is the parent of many cultivars, a common rootstock and a staple bonsai material.