Acer coriaceifolium H. Lév.

Reportedly described from material collected by P.J. Cavalerie from Yunnan Province (Cavalerie 3100) (van Gelderen, de Jong & Oterdoom 1994), this region is curiously absent from the ​​​​​distribution of Acer coriaceifolium provided by Xu et al. (2008). It is another evergreen entire-leaved maple with a thus-far marginal existence in Europe, surviving in mild coastal gardens and greenhouse collections – although one sapling at Furzey Gardens, Hampshire survived –12ºC in 2006 (Johnson 2007). Seed from the Shanghai Botanic Garden in 1983 (distributed as A. cinnamomifolium) was the first recorded introduction to the west (van Gelderen, de Jong & Oterdoom 1994). Two plants at Westonbirt Arboretum, received from Susan Cooper in 1996 but without further details, grew in a somewhat sheltered location until they were removed in 2010 (pers. obs.). The UK and Irish Champion is a tree at Tregrehan, Cornwall, measured in 2024 as 8.5 m (The Tree Register 2025).

The species grows in France, including in a private garden at Chaligny, Vendée. A plant around 30 years old growing in a sheltered spot in the shade of native oaks has survived –12ºC without significant damage (J. Garnett, pers. comm. 2026). A young plant at the Arboretum Cimetière Parc, Nantes, is reported as also doing well in the winter of 2026 (J. Garnett, pers. comm. 2026).

In North America Acer coriaceifolium has been distributed by Heronswood Nursery, and a young plant obtained from there in 2000 by the JC Raulston Arboretum was recorded as doing remarkably well in 2009 (Grimshaw & Bayton 2009), surviving at least –10ºC most winters to reach 1.5 m tall by May 2006, though is absent from their records as of January 2026 (JC Raulston Arboretum 2026). A variegated form has also been recorded at the JC Raulston Arboretum (JC Raulston Arboretum 2026). It was noted that in North Carolina the buds of the species break in very early spring (T. Alderton, pers. comm. 2007), which may be a problem where late frosts are regular. Other examples have been recorded elsewhere in the southeastern United States, including at the Armstrong Atlantic State University, Sarah P. Duke Gardens and the South Carolina Botanic Garden (JC Raulston Arboretum 2026). The foliage is a dull pale green (darker when grown in shade), with distinct tomentum below when young, although this seems to disappear as the leaf matures, to leave a grey underside.