Stephen, I'm not sure I feel comfortable making generalizations about this. Both species JM's and various named forms come in such a wide array of foliage colors, it would be difficult to narrow it down just by leaf color. And a lot of red leafed JM's have a great deal of variability in their foliage color throughout the season - depending on cultivar, the red can green or "bronze" out in excessive sunlight, while others may take a similar approach in much shade. It just depends :-))

Having said that, a lot of older, established red leaved JM's may just be specimens of Acer palmatum var. atropurpurem, which can present in a huge range of color variations hinging on the red/purple theme.

True what GG said though we'll never get greening due to too much sun ha ha.I've really lost interest in the 'red' cultivars and I've had all the well known one's.They start off nice and look good when the sun shines thru the leaves,but that's not too often here.As a result they ALL end up the same colour,a dark shadow on an average day and bronze when the sun shines thru.Remember most of these cultivars were selected because they keep their colour in the hot sun....doesn't apply here except for the extreme south of England perhaps IMO.For me the 'Atropurpureums' are as good and sometimes better than the cultivars.

Thanks for the Comments as always Houzi & Gardengal

I wonder how many Japanese Maple Tree Lined Highways feature Trees that are just Cultivars.Worth a Ponder

Happy gardening Guys

Agree with Cearbhaill,infact I don't think I've ever seen street planted JMs here.

I know for a fact I have never seen any street plantings of JM's in my area and they are as common as mud in private gardens! Generally not a tough enough tree to be able to handle the abuse they'd receive as a street tree - not tolerant to dry conditions, easily damaged with thin bark covering, not tolerant to road salt. And a bit too pricey - even if purchased in bulk - for that sort of usage. OTOH, red, Freeman and Norway maples are routinely used for this purpose as they are very adaptable to stressful growing conditions and significantly less expensive as well.

And this theory would support the sample leaf you showed in your other thread, Stephen. That is a photo of a Norway maple (Acer platanoides) leaf. A much more likely candidate for street planting!!