What is this nefarious plant?

October 21, 2006 4:13 PM

What is this plant/weed and how can a friend of mine control it? Exhibit A, Exhibit B, Exhibit C.

It has a sort of central hub that is like tree-like (or maybe very large bush-like) in its dimensions but tentacles pop up all over the yard, like up to 20-30 feet away. They're very hard to root out. He is also curious if it's one underground network or if it's hurling out seeds or what.

posted by xmutex to home & garden (4 comments total)

Staghorn Sumac?
posted by MonkeySaltedNuts at 4:30 PM on October 21, 2006

Maybe it is Ailanthus altissima, a.k.a. Tree of Heaven?

It's an invasive and hardy tree that spreads by seeds and suckers.

I found this bit from Wikipediea particularly interesting:

The book A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith referred to the Tree of Heaven, using it as an analogy for the ability to thrive in a difficult environment. Ailanthus is also sometimes counter-nicknamed "Tree from Hell", from its prolific invasiveness. In cities, it often bears the name "Ghetto Palm", because of its propensity for growing in urban areas, on abandoned or poorly maintained properties.

The Chinese name for this tree contains the descriptive word "stinky".

In some parts of China, unwanted or worthless children may be contemptuously called "ailanthus shoots"
posted by bonobo at 5:39 PM on October 21, 2006

It looks like ailanthus, to me, too.

I hate it.

Take a piece of leaf in hand and crush. It'll have a strong odor of stale coffee, corn flakes, wet beagle. ick.

It is a vigorous invasive, if it is. They only thing I could ever do to eradicate it was to kill it early, and often. Like kudzu, multiflora rose, and bittersweet, the battle is already lost and the best you can do is localized control. That is easily done via machete if you don't like chemicals. You have to cut EVERY one down.

Find the mamma tree. It has pods like maple seeds. Kill the momma tree and be vigilant for others. Kill them, too.

It does not grow well in the deep woods, so it's not a particular threat to the forest in general, but in urban areas, it is a pest that escapes easily.

I have girdled the adult trees (cut a deep circumferential groove all the way around the trunk), pained Brush Be Gone in the wound every day for two weeks, and still watched the trees bloom and go to seed that season. I once dug up a root that sprouted 100 little baby plants and IT was connecte to a stump that I had given the same treatment the year before.

Someone really ought to make a horror movie about this species.

Good luck!
posted by FauxScot at 8:28 PM on October 21, 2006

However, from MonkeySaltedNut's link:

The leafllet shape here is also different from poison sumac as the staghorn sumac has lance-shaped leaflets and poison sumac leaflets are more elliptical."

Your leaves look more elliptical.

That said, my plant recognition skills are awful. I'd just encourage you (or your friend) to be careful pulling it up.
posted by fogster at 9:34 PM on October 21, 2006