Bonsai tree

The Bay Area Bonsai Associates (BABA) held their 28th annual show at Lakeside Garden Center in Oakland, California. The show included a good number of maples bonsai. Some of my favorites belonged to local bonsai enthusiast Jay McDonald.
Jay is active in a number of clubs and has contributed greatly to the local scene. He acquired the maple below some time ago and has done a great job developing the ramification.
If only there were more big maples around. They are a striking variety in every season and are relatively easy to care for.
All of Jay’s trees featured bright green moss as a top-dressing. He claims a secret source for the stuff – a valuable vein somewhere in Marin County.
I missed the opportunity to get a shot of a second large maple Jay had on display, but I caught his trident maple, again displayed with the great moss.
All told there were plenty of attractive maples at the show, including the following.
I recently learned that Kiyohime is a mythic Japanese character who, once driven to a mighty rage, transforms into a fiery serpent. It didn’t end well for her paramour, the priest Anjin.
I don’t know that the variety is named for her, but I can’t say the name is inappropriate due to its fiery spring colors.