PLEASE Help Me ID This Monster Tree

CaddoMan

What is it , and how do i kill it before i takes over this poor house and yard.

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Gunslinger

Looks like a red mulberry tree. Does it have any fruits?

Jeffrey Lovstrom

Probably Morus alba (white mulberry), maybe variety Chaparral.
Jeff

CaddoMan

Nope no fruit or flowers

CaddoMan

Sorry not it either...

ARforester

Hard to tell exactly without being there but it is some kind of mulberry, probably paper mulberry.

The Tree Whisperer

hard to tell without knowing a little more! where are you in the WORLD do you believe it to be a native or exotic, what climate are you in it looks like a subtropical rainforest or coastal plant any info you can give in regards to the above will help find it. also how big is it?, how old is it? how fast growing is it?

treefeller

Looks like a fig

treefeller

Actually it could be Sassafras albidumssibly

tcs

This tree is in the Morus family (mulberry) whether it be Red or White.
The English brought them to the US & other countries to feed Silkworms(On Silkworm farms) see the texture of the leaf.they became scattered via birds etc & self seeded through the countries,are common thoughout the world at this stage. max height around 50 ft, crown can be a little less. Birds love the berries , great with ice cream(red /for humans!) Most arborists halfway knowing will recogize this tree with no probs.

askmeall

white mulberry , fast grower in tulsa but is considered a nuisance out of the landscape

ejrea

Doesn't look like the mulberry in my yard, or any that I have seen here. Mulberry's have a serrated margin, but not lobed like the one pictured.
Looks more like a fig.
But given all the US guys think it is a mulberry, maybe you have different species to what is common here.

ejrea

Actually I think that is the case.
A bit more research shows that Mulberries have a pretty variable leaf shape world wide, and that lobed shape does seem to be pretty common in the US. I haven't seen that in a mulberry anywhere here before.
Interesting to know why that is. There doesn't seem to sub species, maybe climate, or even genetic variation based on original introduced plant stock?
So not neccessarily so that any half educated arborist should be able to ID, if it doesn't match with the species found in your particular part of the world.

tcs

Mulberry is one of a few trees that has different shaped leaves on the same tree, sassafrass would be another that comes to mind.Intenationally these may vary as pointed out to me, although in the US they are as described therefore fairly easy to define by most Arborists(in my humble tree minded opinion,of course!)

ejrea

By an arborist in the US, then yes that probably is the case.

tcs

Thanks for that comment there.I have to remind myself this is an international platform , which makes it all the more intesting for us arborists.

The Tree Whisperer

Got to say TCS I find you "Most Arborist would recognise this" comment a little offensive.
I have over 16 yrs experience in horticulture/arboriculture with over 500 plants that i can tell you the family botanical names and common along with their cultural requirements of the top of my head. I am keenly familiar with the common mulberry I have 3 in my own yard and that is not what it looks like to me.
Be careful not to box yourself into your own world when making generalised statements the world is a vast place and there are litterally millions of plants "We" (that means us common arborists) CAN'T know em all. Especially without any details as to height, climate and where it is actually growing

Victor Lindsay

Well said!

Nickel

Thanks for that comment because this Arborist in Anchorage Alaska didn't recognize it, either!

stirmantrees

cut it down and grind it? i think one part of your question was how to kill it? I am not fond of using chemicals if i can avoid it. if they are small then possibly dig them up with a shovel.
could you provide pictures from a distance?
i think mulberry to.

tcs

Hey Guys , I do without any question of a doubt owe all concerened in the questionable(Monster) trees id an apology.I have been an Arborist 25 ys now, climbing 24. Studied at the N.Y bot gardens. What I did is exactly what i tell my guys 'NOT' to do. Ejerea you pulled me on my 'bullish' attitude and rightfully so. Anyone else who was taken back/offended by my comment of and Arborist"Halfway knowing" I apologise to sincerely so.I am now in my 25th yr of tree work and between that and recently losing someone close have not been in what should be my usual 'normal' frame of mind. Safety first on accounts....I follow a line of successive ppl My Mentors mentor was DR.Alex Shigo in Mass. so to that extent even more shame on me.I was fortunate enough to meet him whist he was living.Meawhile I if you guys are ok with it would be glad to make sensible non blase comments on tree id etc. Safe climbing all. Mark. TCS.

Farawaytree

Hi Caddoman,
You sure have opened up a wonderful worldwide conversation here with your Monster tree!
Do you want to save the tree by reducing its size OR remove completely?
The call is yours.
Suggest you contact someone local for some local knowledge on IDing your tree and help on deciding what to do with it.
All the best with that one.
Farawaytree

Farawaytree

Hey tcs,
Its kool. We all slip up from time to time. Main thing is you apologized. I'm in Australia , so know very little about flora in the USA?
Its a big world now. Keep learning.
Go with your grief buddy, it takes time to heal a loss!
Regards,
Farawaytree

Farawaytree

Hey Stirmantrees
I'm not fond of chemicals either, so I thought you had good eco practice here!
Farawaytree

banner

I found this but I doubt I'm on target, but I thought I'd throw it into the wash.

Chinese Fruitless Mulberry tree was first introduced to North America as a food source for a potential silkworm industry. The industry never got off the ground, but the tree has since become widely naturalized. The original form is considered undesirable in most landscapes because of its messy fruits, which stain clothes and furniture. They are also weedy because birds love to eat them and carry the seeds far and wide, spreading the tree as they go. Fruitless clones, like Striblingii, offer none of those disadvantages and are becoming popular as landscape plants.


Fruitless mulberry tree is
a fruit tree native to China.


Description of fruitless mulberry tree: The fruitless mulberry develops an extremely dense, round-topped crown and reaches 30 to 50 feet in height. Its deciduous, toothed leaves, yellow-green to lustrous dark green, are extremely variable in form, with some being nearly heart-shaped and others deeply-lobed -- often all on the same plant. Young branches have an orange tinge to them, which they lose as they age.

Farawaytree

Hi Banner
I think you have come up with the best ID yet for this tree!
Well done.
Lets hope Caddoman gives you some feedback!
Farawaytree

banner

Even a blind cow finds a green pasture once in a while.

macawsj

OMG! This is the tree I'm trying to identify! Just took quite a few pics and I know it's NOT a mulberry as I have had them in my yard all my life. This appeared a few years ago and I thought it was nice looking. Now it has invaded most of my back yard. The leaves are being eaten by something... in the exact same place on many leaves. We have lots of bird grasshoppers. The higher leaves are not misshaped. Anyway, I want to kill this thing! It sends up babies from the ground (even some distance from the main tree). They grow up faster than I can keep them trimmed down to ground level. I just found this site a little over an hour ago and already I see the tree I'm looking for, but not the identity yet. I'm in Tampa, Florida. Sub-tropic zone here. The main tree is approximately 40-50ft tall now. The offshoots pop out of the ground and grow VERY fast! They are starting into my neighbor's yard now (on both sides of me)
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macawsj

I haven't read any comments about hairs on the stems.... This tree's young branches are covered by soft hairs that do sink into your skin and are irritating. I get them in my hands as I trim the young ones. I want this thing dead and was considering stripping a band of bark all around the base of the main tree. I know it will take some time for that to work, but I can't afford gloves for my hands, let alone a professional. Do you think killing the parent tree will cause all the young ones to die also?

macawsj

I'm sorry the pics were so small in my post. Here are some that are easier to see.

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