Starship Asterisk*

The leaf is a maple, and even in the U.S. we have seven-lobed maples. It actually looks like a U.S. mountain maple. The ornamentals I've seen called Japanese maples have much narrower lobes

But I don't think the picture was made earlier this month because in November, Orion is high in the south at dawn. Those constellations appear to be setting into sunset colors, so my guess it's an April picture.

That leaf is a horse chestnut leaf, nothing to do with japanese maple, sorry.

I'm not sure about the leaf. It may be a Maple! I have Maples; but they have 5 lobes.
I was looking at the explanation and found this link about the Orion constellation. http://160.114.99.91/astrojan/orion.htm The neat thing is; point at some of the stars and a pop up identifies that star. It's amazing how many are identified.

Mr T wrote:Panama Red

I bet you would, Panama Red

Sorry about that last reply....I got my plants mixed up...try a Clematis
leaf.

japanese maple

Well, I think the leaf must be papyrus. Seriously, it looks more like papyrus than half of the things people are suggesting here.

I think that leaf is japanese maple

I believe it is a Fatsia japonica leaf.

Japanese Maple has 7 leaves (except one variety which has 5) on a "stalk", Castor bean has many more "lobes" but they all come together in the center almost like a flower. The Horse Chestnut has 5 or 6 "lobes". The Horse Chestnut is a plant that produces a poisonous nut and is native to Greece and the Balkins, but has been introduced to temperate climes around the world, so it could well be in Japan. All of this convinces me that this is a variety of Japanese Maple. This author's bias comes from the common name of the Horse Chestnut, the Buckeye. Proving that the Buckeye is a noxious nut. (small apology to Ohio State)

Japanese Maple.... Horse Chestnut.... Japanese Marijuana .... I don't know. But I DO know the composite picture is absolutely wonderful! It's going to be my desktop wallpaper for a while.

Tankard wrote:That leaf is a horse chestnut leaf, nothing to do with japanese maple, sorry.

Here is a "horse chestnut leaf" image:

http://www.masschestnut.org/images/hors ... eaves1.jpg

Here is a Japanese Maple leaf image:

http://www.leagueoftheleaf.com/japmaple.png



They look nothing alike, but it quite obviously it is not a horse chestnut leaf.

Oh and 'sorry.'

Looks like a Japanese Maple leaf to me!

Looks to me like a Horse Chestnut or Buckeye leaf.

It is a Japanese Maple Leaf.
Don G. Lambert

The various opinions are caused by the fact that the leaf is "palmately" veined. That means that the major veins all meet at a central point at the distal end of the stem. Only a few kinds of plants have this leaf; several have been suggested here.

The leaf in the photo has leaflets that are broadest near the stem, and the outer(distal) half of each leaflet narrows toward its point. This eliminates the horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) and Fatsia japonica, which are broadest near the tips of the leaflets.

The castor bean (Ricinus communis) has narrow tips, but the leaflets do not grow in one plane; they curve back slightly but definitely toward the stem.

A maple fits all the known criteria; several species are possible, but the smooth Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) certainly is a leading candidate. I would want to see the tree it came from before attempting an identification.

*** Has anyone noticed that we are looking at the BACK side of the leaf? The veins are not nearly as prominent on the front. But it makes a better picture this way because the ice crystals form more readily on the bulging veins.***

the leaf is a red one
the pic is LAME

Looks like a Horse Chesnut.

You can check out the japanese maples in the below URL pages.
http://homepage2.nifty.com/chigyoraku/Etop11.html

Thank you, a.niwa! That is a source of great beauty!!!

Considering that it is most likely a Japanese Maple, did you notice another "Japanese" item in the picture?
The Pleiades star cluster (or "Seven Sisters") is called "Subaru" in Japan. Besides being a beloved car company, subaru means "to tie together." Appropriate for an art photo comparing the frost on a leaf to a galaxy of stars.
(See his own comments: http://www.flickr.com/photos/43894176@N07/5150022192/)

To me it looks more like a Japanese Maple because the lobes are connected near the stem (look carefully) and they are too pointy to be a horse chestnut. Try this link for comparison:

http://www.flickriver.com/photos/darren ... 960130047/

The Japanese Maple seems to come in many shapes and sizes.

I think the leaf may be coming from a Chestnut tree.

The photo linked from 'PRD' shows an aspect of Jap. Maples that is not in the original image: pointy teeth along the margin. Also, a maple leaf is rather flimsy, while the original seems to me to be quite heavy. The rounded teeth and leathery evergreen texture suggested Hellebore to me right away, and that is at least a new suggestion, even though I'm not finding a web image that suits. All of which is a game and nothing more: the photographer put the leaf in the frame and knows what it is. Will the fact be revealed soon?

The perfect Christmas card.