[SOLVED] on a maple pls

[bonsaibeginer]

Hi
A friend of mine mentioned that he had a Japanese maple, for well over 10 years now, here in Mareeba in his garden. I stopped by today and had a look but I wasn't sure what I was looking at.

20130826_111554.jpg

The leaves coming out look like a maple of some kind but I have never seen bark like this... unless it has a disease of some kind.

20130826_111625.jpg

Any help with an ID on either plant or disease would be great.

Thanks Grant

Solved
By squizzy - Liquid Ambar

[squizzy]

Hi grant.

This is a liquid amber I think. I have seen that bark on liquidamber before but assumed it was normal.

Squizz

[Beano]

Do liquidambars get that green juvenile bark? That's something Japanese maples definitely get, but I haven't seen it on the new wood on either of my liquidambars.

[Bougy Fan]

Definitely a LA - look HERE

[bonsaibeginer]

Thanks for the ID. Wasn't completely sure, the bark def threw me off. It looked like a sort of scale, we pulled a piece off and the branch looked fine underneath but it just looks wrong...
Thanks again though