subsp. davidii - click image
A classic typical David Maple or subsp. davidii without lobes in most of the leaves, a good rich dark color and overall ovate shape. Compare this to the very different leaf on subsp. grosseri below. All these photos are from the Morris Arboretum's spectacular collection of maples.

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Acer davidii (typical - subsp. davidii)
ha: globose
ht: 30-50 ft. in wild - trees in UK gardens have reached nearly 50 ft.
bk: green striped white to purplish-green striped white
lc: glossy medium green
ls: ovate and mostly unlobed and if lobed only at the very base and quite obtuse - often lobed in subsp. grosseri below
la: when lobed these are obtuse - never acute to acuminate as in subsp. grosseri. The main blade can be acute-acuminate in the tip. If
la: you find more than 1 acuminate tip, it runs closers to subsp. grosseri.
lb: subcordate to rotund
lm: unevenly spaced serrate - distinctly double serrate in subsp. grosseri
ll: 8-12cm - much larger than subsp. grosseri
lw: 1.5-4.0 in.
lv: reddish tomentose when young becoming glabrous and hairy below on veins. This is why some supposed
lv: varieties have such diverse epithets as tomentellum and glabrescens.
fc: yellow green
it: pendulous raceme
il: 1.5-2.5 in. - longest in male racemes
frw: samaras 1.25 in. long with wings .5 in. wide
geo: China
in: to Europe in 1879 by Veitch - by Wilson in 1902 to a wider distribution
id: see subsp. grosseri below for separation of the two major varieties.

Acer davidii var. acuminatifolium W.P. Fang = subsp. davidii

Acer davidii 'Canton'
ha: sparsely branched, multi-stemmed tree
gr: more vigorous as young trees
ht: 10m or more
bark: white striped
ll: 7-15cm
lw: 3-6cm
ls: oval to oblong, unlobed or coarsely lobed on juvenile shoots.
lc: dark green
li: Gelderen, C.J. van and D.M. van Gelderen. 1999. Maples for gardens. Timber Press. Portland.

Acer davidii 'Dawn Rainbow'
bk: striped pink over green and white
lc: slightly and sporadically striped white
afc: red, orange, and yellow shades
so: Whitman Farms (online catalog 2006)

Acer davidii 'Ernest Wilson'
ha: globose and compact, upright-arching overall
gr: internodes about 3 in. - NOT 5 in. as 'George Forrest'
ll: 5 in. - or shorter than many clones like 'George Forrest'
lw: 2.5 in.
lc: light green
pet: pink becoming greener
afc: orange to yellow shades
geo: this reflects populations collected by Charles Maries and years later by E.H. Wilson in W. HUbei and W. Yunnan
li: Keenan, J. 1957. On the application of the term cultivar to plants
li: of wild origin - with particular reference to Acer davidii.
li: Baileya 5(3): 101-105.

Acer davidii 'George Forrest' (Acer forrestii hort. in part, not true A. forrestii)
ha: open and vigorous crown, looser than 'Ernest Wilson' and more spreading
gr: internodes 5 in. - longer than 'Ernest Wilson'
lc: darker green - often darker than 'Ernest Wilson' under the same fertilizer regime
ll: 6-7 in. long - longer than 'Ernest Wilson'
lw: 5 in.
pet: bright red becoming greener
geo: this reflects the population collected by Forrest in Yunnan
ns: this is the most widely seen clone in British gardens. 
li: Keenan, J. 1957. On the application of the term cultivar to plants
li: of wild origin - with particular reference to Acer davidii.
li: Baileya 5(3): 101-105.

Acer davidii var. glabrescens Pax = subsp. davidii

Acer davidii var. grandifolium S.Y. Liang & Y.Q. Huang = subsp. davidii

subsp. grosseri - click to enlage
Labeled as the species, this Morris Arboretum tree (summer 2005) clearly has 3 lobes at times and these with clearly acuminate tips. That disqualifies it from the typical subspecies. They are also wider and sometimes nearly circular (suborbicular) in overall outline. Note how very different the shape, lobes, and apices are from the subsp. davidii photo at the top of this page.

subsp. grosseri - click to enlage
Labeled as A. grosseri, this is another Morris Arb. tree (also summer 2005) but showing the sharp-tipped lateral lobes to even greater perfection. Now that is easy to separate out the two David Maple varieties, one is confronted with the unpleasant truth than subsp. grosseri resembles about six other species of snakebark maples. Look to the Flora of China (now online) for a wonderful key to those variants.

Acer davidii subsp. grosseri (Pax) deJong (A. grosseri var. hersii, A tegmentosum var. hersii, A. davidii var. horizontale Pax, A. grosseri Pax)
ls: suborbicular-ovate, 3-5-lobed but can be unlobed of older, mature limbs, terminal lobe triangular
la: terminal lobe distinctly acuminate, laterals more acute
lb: subcordate
ll, lw: 5-6cm long x 4-5cm wide
lm: double serrate, teeth appressed and acute
ns: it is often seen in collection and catalogs as A. grosseri var. hersii
id: from typical subsp. davidii it differs mainly in: