The leaves on the Bloodgood Maple are palmate (hand-shaped) with 5–7 lobes. They emerge bright red in spring, deepen to a rich reddish-purple or burgundy in summer, and turn vibrant crimson-red in fall. This makes it one of the best purple-leaved Japanese maples for consistent color. Small, purplish-red flowers appear in spring (not highly showy), followed by attractive red winged seeds (samaras) in late summer/early fall