Looks like a Daphne, but you said it looks nothing like its relatives, so can't be that...

I won't guess species, but I'll go with Acer for the genus

Christopher yes. 👏 Now which species? It's hardy from zone 7b south.

Well if you insist, I'll venture A, oblongum.

No

My ruralband Google is too slow, so I will just have to wait on the correct species

Acer laevigatum?

No, but both were good guesses, and I had no idea there are so many maples with different leaves.

The leaves/stems seem like alternate?

I believe the leaves are opposite, though it's hard to tell. This maple only grows 3' tall, and it's also grown as a houseplant. From Vietnam and China. It can handle shade.

Yep. Acer fabri!!! 👏 👏 👏

Acer fabri can get a whole lot bigger than just 3 feet!!!

Yeah I was confused by that...figured it was a typo...given the mapleness of maples, generally, it would be hard to imagine any of them staying 3 ft tall...

I was quoting Wikipedia that says they rarely get more than 1 meter tall. I thought they'd be more reliable. I'm glad to hear they get bigger for an even more stunning effect.

20 meters in its habitat, smaller in cultivation and even smaller when grown in a container as a houseplant. But only 3 feet is very small indeed!

Gardengal, I see it's also called a vine. Does it have a vining habit?

Not that I have ever seen nor disclosed in Acer literature.

Jay, I would add that our native vine maple, Acer circinatum, doesn't even have a vining habit. Can be very lax and sprawling when grown in the wild and the only species capable of self layering but no way is it a vine or a climber! Typically just a multistemmed shrubby tree.

Island species tend to differentiate more......

Where have you all been? Acer carpinifolium has simple unlobed leaves and is perfectly hardy in midwestern North America.

I think what's more remarkable about Acer fabri is it's an evergreen maple.

Carpinifolium, a Japanese maple that looks nothing like a Japanese Maple. We'll probably find out in 20 years that it's invasive, like Chinese Pistache. I so wanted it to be native.

One of a very limited number of dioecious acers so invasive potential is pretty low.

I actually purchased A. carpinifolium 'Esveld' from a Duluth, MN-based retail nursery, which is no longer in operation. Unfortunately, it didn't survive its first winter. That was about fifteen years ago and I've never seen another in the nursery trade. However, I did see a nice specimen a few years back at Garvin Woodland Gardens outside Hot Springs, AR.