Hi everyone! I have this annoying weed growing between the bushes in my front yard. It looks similar to poison sumac except the stem doesn't appear to be red and it's not in a wet location. I've read up on sumac and I don't necessarily think it's that, but I wanted opinions from people who know a lot more about plants than I do. I also have this same time of plant bigger, in bushes almost around the electrics pole near the road. If it is something I need to worry about, i want to be sure to get rid of it before my son gets exposed to it. Thanks!

Moved to Plant ID Forum

Any thoughts, please?

I would guess it's a baby ash tree but I'm not well versed in sorting baby trees. If it ended up being a pecan or walnut, I wouldn't be surprised by that either.

Not Poison Sumac.

Hi Rachelfaith05:

First, you can help participants here by identifying where (in the world) this plant is growing - since this is an international site and plants could be from North America to Australia to India to Europe. Context makes a big difference.

Next, you can post more images! Since you say you have more instances of this kind of plant around your property, never be reluctant to provide more information. The great thing about this site is that it serves as a permanent educational tool for others that will come read these threads in the future.

Finally: you could cut off a bit or a chunk of one of these plants (get a whole stem or branch with plenty of leaves/flowers/buds) and lay it on a sidewalk or driveway to photograph thoroughly. Take pictures of the top and bottom of whole leaves (including all the leaflets of a compound leaf as in the plant shown), and closeups showing how the leaves attach to branches, closeups of buds, flowers, seeds, etc. Wear protective clothing and gloves if you are unsure or worried about potential contact with the plant.

Enough epistle of posting protocols. purpleinopp is correct - that is certainly a young Ash plant (Fraxinus sp.), and porkpal is also quite correct that it is NOT a Poison Sumac or other related poisonous/irritating species.

You will find that seedlings of Ash will come up wherever their seeds may blow in on the wind, or wash in with rainfall. It is a species with pinnate compound foliage (composed of 5-9 leaflets typically, arranged along a midrib known as a rachis) that are arranged in opposite fashion along stems/branches.

Your plant is either a White Ash (Fraxinus americana) or Green Ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica), which are two common native species in eastern North America - if that is indeed where you are from and these plants are found. More detailed imagery might help make the distinction, if you are interested, but from where you say these are growing, you probably want to delete them because those are spots that won't accommodate a full-grown shade tree.

Wow! Thank you for such a thorough responce. Thank you everyone! Here are a few more pictures of the other area I talked about. It's more of a big bush. I'm also in northeast Ohio.

Thank you for the additional images - and your growing location. Northeast Ohio can have a variety of conditions, from the relative balminess of the Lake Erie shore and sandy soils, to the inland glacial till but significantly colder conditions of Akron/Canton/Mansfield and similar areas.

Your new pictures display an entirely different species of plant - not an Ash like your other plant.

This one has alternate arrangement of simple leaves along its stems - your photos show that very clearly.

This is a species of Cherry, and very likely Prunus serotina - Black Cherry. This also is a native tree in eastern North America, and commonly grows from seeds dropped by bird poop - like next to powerlines or other places that birds perch. It is probably growing as a bushy form (multiple stems) because it has been repeatedly cut back - but not killed. It will resprout incessantly unless you dig it up or spray it with a nonselective herbicide.

Thank you very much! I really appreciate it!

Thank you very much! I really appreciate it!