Acer maximowiczianum ("Megusurinoki")

Japanese name: メグスリノキ （目薬木）
Scientific name: Acer maximowiczianum

[Overview]
A deciduous tree growing in the mountains, reaching as much as 25 m in height.
The trunk is erect.
The leaves are opposite and trifoliate compound; the terminal leaflet is elliptic, 5–14 cm long and 2–6 cm wide.
The leaf margin has low, blunt serrations and is often wavy.
The upper surface of the leaf is hairy at first but later becomes hairless, and the underside is covered with coarse hairs throughout.
The petiole is 1.5–5 cm long, and together with the leaflet stalks it is covered with many coarse hairs.
The leaves turn a vivid red in autumn.
It is dioecious.
Male flowers are borne 3–5 together and female flowers 1–3 together, in umbel-like clusters in the leaf axils.
The flowers are pale yellowish green, with 6 sepals and 6 petals.
The fruits are 4–5 cm long and borne in pairs, each with a propeller-like wing; the wings spread from parallel to an obtuse angle.

[Uses]
A decoction of the bark, twigs and leaves is used as a folk medicine to wash the eyes.

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed or cuttings.
It prefers a well-drained place from partial shade to full sun.
Partial shade is better, especially while the tree is young.
In shade, the autumn color develops poorly.
Longhorn beetles and aphids cause damage, so kill them as soon as they are found.

[Notes]
The Japanese name derives from its use as an eye medicine.

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