Cultivars
Note: There are more than 300 cultivars some are listed below and some may only be found in the USA or UK.  

ATROPURPUREUM GROUP
The most popular Japanese maple leaves are usually bronzy crimson throughout summer and turn brilliant red during autumn.

'Aka Shigitatsu Sawa'
This deciduous tree grows to 4 m (12ft) tall and wide with spreading branches forming a rounded crown.  The attractive foliage is creamy white with green veins and tinged rose coloured when emerging during spring.
  
During autumn they turn brilliant red before falling and the plant boasts a perfect shape with dainty foliage.  It is planted in small Japanese gardens as an accent plant or grown in large containers. this shrub prefers a full sun to semi shaded position and grows on moist well-drained fertile soils that are tending a neutral pH. It will tolerate zone 5 but it is advisable to mulch the roots during winter for protection.

'Akegarasu'	Matsumurae
This large shrub to small tree has a short greyish trunk with spreading to horizontal branching forms a broad rounded habit to ground level.  

The deep purplish-red new growth matures to bronze in summer and in spring it produces tiny pendant red cup-shaped flowers.  This is an ideal specimen tree for colour contrast in a small garden preferring moist, humus rich well-drained soils.

'Albomarginatum' (Argenteomarginatum)
This tree’s leaves are slightly smaller than the species and are green with a white border.

'Asahi zuru'
This vigorous spreading shrub has white or pink leaves when young and becoming mottled with white upon maturity. 

'Atropurpureum' 
This tree has upright spreading branches forming a dense rounded crown.  It has deep- bronze to purple foliage with up to 9 lobes that becomes green during summer and then the leaves turn red in autumn.

'Aureum'
This tree is covered with soft yellow leaves turning more gold like in summer.

'Beni Maiko'
This smaller bushy shrub starts with striking red foliage turning pink and finally maturing to a red-green.

'Beni Schichihenge'
This small tree is a quite uncommon form.  It’s deeply lobed blue-green leaves may be margined in white-pink or entirely bright pink-orange.

'Bloodgood'
This slow growing small tree forms a rounded habit to 6m (20ft) tall.  It produces deep reddish purple leaves during spring and turns red during autumn.  This is a very cold hardy cultivar and produces attractive red fruit.

'Burgundy Lace'
This small rounded tree is 2m (12ft) high and 2.2m (15ft) wide. The new foliage is purple bronze turning green in summer with finely serrated lobes.  Suitable plant for domestic garden.

'Butterfly'
This slow growing upright tree forms a vase habit to 5m (15ft) high and 2.1m (8ft) wide.  Its leaves are pink with green margins that mature to grey green with cream coloured variegations and during autumn turn rose-red.

'Chitoseyama'
This tree when mature has a compact mounded habit and elegant limp branches.  The deeply cut leaves are green-bronze and brilliant in autumn.

'Corallinum'
This slow growing dwarf shrub forms are a dense crown with arching branches that have 5-lobed deep shrimp-pink coloured leaves when unfolding, turning to pale mottled green in summer. It is rare in cultivation and may be difficult to obtain requiring a specialist nursery.

'Crippsii'
This graceful but delicate slow growing form has fine segmented bronze red leaves.

'Crimson Prince'
This cold hardy shrub has bright red summer foliage that turns scarlet during autumn.  

'Deshojo'
This shrub of an upright habit is medium in size with pointed lobes that are red when young and maturing to bright green.

'Emperor 1'
This vigorous plant produces a red leaf that is persistent during summer.  

'Facination' ®
This tree is upright and spreading to 5m (16ft) tall by 5m (16ft) wide forming a rounded habit.  It produces large deep green leaves with narrow lobes and turns orange during autumn.

'Glowing embers'
This vigorous tree produces small dark green leaves that turn orange red purple during autumn.  It tolerates warmer climates.

'Hessei' (Elegans Purpureum)
This tree is upright with spreading branches and forms a domed crown. The leaves turn red brown during autumn and the plant is used in Japanese or cool climate gardens for colour.

'Kasen nishiki'
This deciduous slow-growing tree grows to 7m (25ft) tall are with spreading branches that form a rounded crown.  It has variegated bluish-green leaves that have streaks of white and margins with pink tones. The leaf segments are sickle shaped and tend to weep downwards.

'Moon Fire'
This small tree grows to 4.5m (15ft) and produces purple green leaves with 7 lobes up to 120mm (5”) long.  They maintain their colour during summer and during autumn they turn crimson.

'Nicholsonii' 		Matsumurae
This deciduous shrub grows to 7 m (23ft) tall with spreading branches to ground level forming a low rounded crown.  The spring new growth is reddish bronze with green veins and deepens to green during summer.  

During autumn the leaves turn a rich crimson orange before falling.  This popular plant is an excellent specimen from small garden or may be grown in large containers.

'Nisharnettiki-gawa'
This small tree has a short blackish trunk with spreading branches that form a rounded crown.  It has semi glossy palmate leaves with serrated margins and long reddish petioles and arranged on layered branches.

'Red Sentinel'
This vigorous tree produces dark red leaves that persist throughout summer.  

'Sango kaku' (syn. senkaki)  Coral Bark Maple
This slow growing tree has an upright vase habit to 7m (25ft) high and 6.2m (22ft) wide.  The doubly serrated leaves can have up to 7 lobes and are of a reddish colour turning to a mid-green in summer and a yellow-gold in autumn.  

The young stems are coral colour during winter occurring in the first and second years of growth only and the small reddish flowers appear during spring. Tolerates most well drained moderately fertile moist soils and prefers a wind protected sunny position.

'Scolopendirfolium'
This small tree up to 5m (15ft) forms a rounded crown when mature.  The 5 lobed leaves are up to 800mm (3”) long and they have irregularly serrated margins.  During autumn they turn yellow.

'Scolopendirfolium Rubrum'
This smaller slower growing tree is very similar to the Scolopendirfolium’.  It may grow to 2.5m (8ft) tall producing purple reddish leaves that become reddish green in summer.  Autumn leaves are red.

'Trompenburg'
This upright tree becomes broad spreading with age to 5m (16ft) high and 4.8m (13ft) wide.  It produces leaves up to 600mm (2.5”) long with recurved margins and are deep purplish colour that persist into summer.  During autumn the leaves turn into red crimson.

'Yuhgure'
This small shrub grows to 2 m (6ft) tall and wide with arching branches forming an open rounded crown.  The new growth in spring emerges reddish bronze than matures to brown-green and turns orange-yellow during autumn. It is not commonly cultivated and may be difficult to obtain but, it is an excellent specimen plant a small garden.

DISSECTUM GROUP
Note
Dissectum cultivars are weeping shrubs with a domed crown.  This group produces plants with leaves that have up to 11 lobes that maybe also finely divided.

'Crimson Queen'
This medium sized tree will grow to 3m (10ft) by 4m (12ft) and will keep the bright crimson leaves throughout the growing season.  In particularly warm climates the foliage may become more bronze green.  Each leaf may have 7, 9 or 11 lobes.

'Dissectum'
This tree has deeply and finely cut leaves and has a low and pendulous habit. Needs a protected position and to be kept moist.

'Dissectum atropurpureum' 
This small tree as an upright rounded habit forming in dense crown with intricate branchlets.  It has finally dissected palmate leaves that are dark bronze to purple.

'Dissecturn Nigrum' (‘Ever Red’)
This shrub is of a dense habit with bronzy leaves becoming brilliant red in autumn.
 
'Dissectum Ornatum'
This common form of the species grows to 2m (6ft) by 3m (9ft) with new leaves a duller red than some other varieties.  The 7 lobed delicate leaves are green in summer turning crimson in the autumn.

'Dissecturn Palmatifidum'
This tree can be slightly inconsistent but mostly with finely cut leaves, more so than Dissectum. 

'Dissectum variegatum'
This tree has fine foliage with cream, bronze and pink turning green.
 
'Ever Red'
This vigorous form can grow to 5m (15ft) with a drooping pendulous habit.  The new purplish foliage can have a downy pubescence that soon converts to a deep red colour turning bronze green in autumn.  This cultivar varies in colour from bright red to deep purple. 

'Filigree'
This tree has beautiful dark veined yellow green foliage that becomes gold in autumn. 

'Flavescens'
This medium sized tree grows to 2.8m (8ft) high and forms a rounded habit.  The lacy leaves are light yellow green in summer and yellow orange in autumn. 

'Inaba Shidare' (‘Red Select’)
This fast growing sturdy tree attains a height of 3.2m (10ft).  Its large 7 lobed leaves are purple red in spring transforming to crimson in the autumn. This is a very cold hardy plant however it is not tolerant high temperatures or drought.

'Koto No Ito'
This upright deciduous shrub has a short trunk with spreading branches that form a compact rounded crown.  It has variable delicate narrow lobed bamboo-like leaves that are crimson when young, turning green as they mature then turning orange-red during autumn. 

In spring it produces clusters of tiny cup-shaped red, pendant flowers and the tree is planted in small or Japanese gardens preferring a cool moist, wind protected position.  It tolerates most well drained fertile soils with a neutral pH and responds to mulching during summer.

'Mure Hibari'	Smooth Japanese Maple
This vigorous upright deciduous small tree grows to 5 m (16ft) tall, with arching branches to ground level, forming a rounded crown.  During spring the new small deeply divided leaves are brick red along the margins and turning green during summer. 

In autumn the leaves turn, bright red to mauve before falling and the plant is used around water features in small or Japanese gardens giving an excellent display. This plant belongs to the Matsumurae group and its name means 'flock of Skylark's'.

'Ornatum'
This common variation can grow to 3m (9ft).  The 7 lobed leaves are dissected and fragile with the colours ranging from green in summer to crimson red in autumn.

'Red Dragon'
This variation holds its colour better than other cultivars, the new growth being brilliant bright red.  This is a heat tolerant plant suitable for the Southern Hemisphere.

'Red Filigree Lace'
A standard habit of the Dissectum group, this sturdy tree has reddish brown, very fine 7 lobed leaves that turn rich deep red in autumn.  

'Seiryu'
This large upright tree forms a vase shape uncharacteristic of this group.  Matures to %m (15ft) high and 3.2m (10ft) wide.  The foliage varies from bright green to gold, orange and red.

'Sherwood Flame'
This large heat resistant tree grows to 4.2m (13ft) high and 5.2m (16ft) wide with a spreading habit.  The maroon summer foliage turns crimson during the autumn.

'Tamukeyama'
This old cultivar can be up to 4.2m (13ft) high and 5.2m (16ft) wide with young foliage a deep red maturing to purple.  The 7 to 9 lobed leaves hold their colour well.

'Viridis'
This tree is covered in beautiful green foliage during summer transforming to yellow and then red.

'Waterfall'
This is a heat tolerate variation and will grow to 3.2m (10ft) high by 4.6m (14ft) wide.  The foliage is an attractive deep green in summer and gold with a reddish tinge in autumn.

'Seigan sanguineum'
This tree has yellow green foliage and red twigs during winter.

'Roseum marginatum'
This tree has dark green leaves that are variegated cream with a faint rose margin during early spring.

ELEGANS GROUP These plants have larger leaves normally with 7 lobes that are finely serrated

'Elegans'
This tree has long deep green attractive leaves.

'Garnet'
This is a strong growing from of the tree with finely cut lobes and deep red garnet coloured foliage.

'Kagari Nishiki' (‘Roseomarginatum’)
This tree has pretty but inconsistent pale green leaves with a pinkish margin.

'Karasugawa'
New growth is pink transforming to mottled white and pink upon maturity.

'Kinran'		Matsumure
This shrub is upright to 5 m (15ft) tall by 3 m (!0ft) wide with spreading to horizontal branches forming a low rounded crown. The deeply cut new growth is glossy, red purple with a green veins and a green underside.  

They mature to a bronze-green then, turning to a golden colour during autumn before falling.  This stylish plant is ideal as a specimen in a small garden or woodlands setting.

'Koreanum'
This long lasting plant has rich red leaves during autumn.

'Koshimino' (‘Sessilifolium’) (‘Decompositum’) 'Hagoromo’
This dwarf tree has erect spreading branches that form an open crown with deeply cut leaves that is coppery coloured when young. 

During autumn, the leaves turn red and the dwarf form of this tree is known as 'Hagoromo’. It is planted in small or Japanese gardens and used in low border planting for colour.

'Linearilobum'
This medium size tree grows to 5 m (15ft) tall by 3 m (10ft) wide with deeply cut bright green foliage that turns yellow during autumn. The new growth and twigs are reddish during spring.  

This tree prefers a partially shaded protected position, and grows on most well drained moist soils with pH from 4 to 7.5, and responds to mulch.  During spring, it produces pendant purplish red flowers and the tree is frost and dear tolerant but drought tender.  

'Linearilobum Atropurpureum'
Similar to ‘Linearilobum’ however leaves are more bronze.

'Lutescens'
The summer foliage is lustrous green becoming pale lemon yellow in autumn.

'Nigrum'
Deep purple foliage.
 
'Osakazuki'
This tree grows to 6m (20ft) tall with a rounded crown.  The leaf has 7 serrated lobes and is bright green turning rich crimson in autumn.  The most brilliant foliage to be found on the Japanese Maples.
 
'Oshio Beni'
This small tree grows to 6m (20ft) and develops a spreading crown.  The new leaves are vibrant orange red that becomes a greenish bronze colour in summer.  It turns scarlet during autumn and the leaves have up to 7 lobes.

'Red Pygmy'
This slow growing shrub is smaller only growing to 2m (6ft) hight and wide.  Its long lasting colour is red-purple with slender lobes divided to the base.

'Reticulatum'
Have prominent veins in dark green with pale cream to green leaves.

'Ribesifolium' (Shishigashira)
This slow growing upright tree with a broad crown has deep green glossy deeply cut leaves that are twisted and have coarsely serrated margins. During autumn the leaves turn golden-colour.
 
'Rubrum'
Spring foliage is ruby red, softening in summer.

'Rufescens'
This shrub is of a wide spreading habit with attractive green split leaves.

'Shishio Improved'
This large dense shrub is medium is stature and luminous red new growth becomes green upon maturity.
 
'Ukigumo'
This small to medium sized shrub has deep 5 lobed immensely speckled leaves with pink and white margins.

'Versicolor'
Green foliage with white and pink mottled blotches.  Possibility of reversion.

'Villa Taranto'
This bush with a dome shaped habit has red new growth and contrasting green mature 5 lobed leaves.  

Note; all Japanese maples belong to one of the following groups and generally defined by the leaf shape.
Amaoenum group
Plants that are loosely put into this group have shallow to moderately deep lobes up to two thirds of the leaf length.

Palmateum group
Plant in this group have moderately to deep divided leaves, from two thirds to three quarters of the leaf length.

Matsumurae group
Plants in this group have leaves that are very deeply cut, up to three quarters of the leaf length.

Linearilobum group
Plants in this group have narrow strap-like lobes that are divided to the leaf base.

Dissectum group
Plants in this group have deeply cut lobes that are dissected into sub-lobes and are generally have a weeping habit with a dome crown.

Dwarf group
Plants in this group grow only to 2 m (6ft) tall the leaves are variable and may also fit into one of the above groups.