Acer tschonoskii (in Japanese ミネカエデ, Mine-kaede, literally "ridge maple"), the butterfly maple or Tschonoski's maple, is a species of shrub or small tree native to Japan and the Kuril Islands.[1] It is one of the least invasive, easiest to grow, and hardiest species of maples, but remains rarely used in gardens. A. tschonoskii naturally grows in subalpine habitats, at elevations between . A. tschonoskii var. australe,[2] (in Japanese ナンゴクミネカエデ, Nangoku-mine-kaede, literally "southern Tschonoski's maple"), a variety of A. tschonoskii, is distributed from Iwate Prefecture southward to Shikoku and Kyushu.[3]