I was going to rake this dead mess up that's been sitting there a while, and noticed a tree/plant is growing in it. It wouldn't be the first time a tree tried coming up in this. Once we let one go and it turned out to be a mulberry tree which was removed (not to my approval, my boyfriend's grandma wanted it gone because it's invasive). But this one looks different.

So, I'm sorry if the photos aren't that good, the sun was very bright and I was using a cell phone for the photos.

I'm in zone 7, NC US.









Thank you

I wonder if it could be Red Maple (Acer rubrum)

More images for comparison:
http://www.bing.com/images/sea...
http://www.bing.com/images/sea...

plantladylin said:I wonder if it could be Red Maple (Acer rubrum)

More images for comparison:
http://www.bing.com/images/sea...
http://www.bing.com/images/sea...

Wow, that looks like the same thing! That's gotta be it.. Thank you so much! :)

merida72,

LOL, please don't take my word for it! My eyes aren't what they used to be so that was only a wild guess on my part! Hopefully others will be along shortly with some suggestions because it may very well be something entirely different.

plantladylin said:merida72,

LOL, please don't take my word for it! My eyes aren't what they used to be so that was only a wild guess on my part! Hopefully others will be along shortly with some suggestions because it may very well be something entirely different.

No worries! If you're not right, I won't be disappointed. If it isn't that tree, I'm thinking I may just plant one. I like the way it looks at maturity.

It is a beautiful tree and does well in N.C.: https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/pl...

plantladylin said:It is a beautiful tree and does well in N.C.: https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/pl...

Oh wow! I just fell more in love with this tree! It's beautiful! Thanks for the link.

It really is beautiful in autumn when it turns those vibrant colors!

plantladylin said:It really is beautiful in autumn when it turns those vibrant colors!

After looking at more photos, I'm most defiantly going to get this tree! It does look so beautiful!

So, I think I've found more of these saplings. They're all over the place where the gophers made their homes. Here's some photos:

Are they all the same type of tree, or something else?

They're not the same as the first tree. Hopefully I'm wrong but at least some of the above look like poison ivy. I wouldn't touch it until someone else gives a second opinion one way or the other.

I agree that it is not like the first tree, but I don't think it is poison ivy. I have never seen it be red at that seedling stage.

I'm going where there is some this morning, but we've only just lost snow cover here so I'm not sure if it's growing yet. Here are some pics of the red spring growth:

https://www.google.ca/search?q...

Some of it does look like it might be Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) which has different looks at different stages of growth but I thought the red color only occurred during the fall.
Check out some of these photos for comparison:
http://www.carolinanature.com/...
https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/pl...
http://www.jeffpippen.com/plan...

Could be, but the texture and spacing of the leaves still looks wrong to me. Unlikely to be particularly desirable, however.

Well I checked and it's too early for the leaves to be emerging here, probably won't be long though. Yes, the early spring leaves are red as in Lin's first link, and Merida's plants have the longer petiole on the middle of the three leaflets which is characteristic of poison ivy. There might be alternatives and sometimes things look different in pictures. I guess we need to figure out what else might have reddish emerging spring leaves, three leaflets and a longer middle petiole. As the old saying goes, leaflets three let it be, or words to that effect.

http://www.fcps.edu/islandcree...

Poison ivy is quite variable throughout its range. These last pics do look like Poison ivy, but I would defer to a knowledgeable person in your state or surrounding states.

The first group of pics are definitely not poison ivy.

If I came across the plants in that last group of photos I would err on the side of caution and assume it was poison ivy until proved wrong. It really does look like the emerging growth of poison ivy; please use care as all parts of the plant can cause the rash.

The red color sure does happen even in the newly emerging spring growth.
http://www.northeastipm.org/bm...
http://www.ladybug.uconn.edu/f...

This link has a photo (about 3/4 down the page) of poison oak which can look similar.
https://wyeastblog.org/2012/05...

I can confirm that it is Poison Ivy. As, I accidentally brushed my hand on it while taking photos and now, I've got itchy bumps on my hand and wrist. I need to be more careful!

How can I be so dumb...every year this area is filled with it and poison oak during the summer...but it would be green. Since it was a different color in spring, I thought it was something different like the maple tree. I never knew it could be this color... I learned something new.

No wonder the deer ate the leaves off the sapling and left the Ivy leaves in these places...that should've been a sign to me.

greene said:If I came across the plants in that last group of photos I would err on the side of caution and assume it was poison ivy until proved wrong. It really does look like the emerging growth of poison ivy; please use care as all parts of the plant can cause the rash.

The red color sure does happen even in the newly emerging spring growth.
http://www.northeastipm.org/bm...
http://www.ladybug.uconn.edu/f...

This link has a photo (about 3/4 down the page) of poison oak which can look similar.
https://wyeastblog.org/2012/05...

Very helpful links!