Painted maple is native to China, the Russian Far East, Korea and Japan. Due to this large range the different provenances display slight differences both in appearance and in climatic adaptability. The leaves resemble those of the native maple (A. platanoides) but are smaller and the lobes are of approximately equal length. The whole tree is like a smaller version of the Finnish species and would be extremely useful for gardens, especially if a suitable provenance could be found.
Although painted maple grows to over 20 metres in the wild, it seldom reaches more than 10m when planted. Mustila’s biggest specimen can be admired at the western end of Etelärinne (Southern Slope). What makes this species particularly valuable is the autumn colour, which varies depending on origin and the autumn weather. At its best, the crown is a blaze of fiery red, though quite often it is a less brilliant yellow
