Leaf ID

[MiguelMC]

This is a weird request but bear with me, today when i was walking the dog I found an tree that I've never seen before, just a sampling growing in the middle of nowhere, at first glance i thought it be an acer campestre or something like it but the leafs seem a bit too long.
the tree is just a sapling about 1,5m high or so with a base width at about 2/3cm , any ideas of what it is? if you so do you think its worth collecting, I'm sure this will be removed by the municipal services sooner rather than later.

 

[Starfox]

It's most likely a Brachychition acerifolius.
If not a Brachychiton of some sort. I'd collect it if it was one.

 

[Shibui]

My initial impression is same as Starfox. If this was in Australia I would certainly pick a Brachychiton species from those leaves. Brachychitons have very variable leaves when juvenile so the leaves on your sapling may not look the same as a mature tree of the same species.
Please note that Id from leaves alone is fraught with difficulty. The more clues we can get the better. Visual clues to ID include: leaf, leaf arrangement on the branch (opposite or alternate), bark, shape of the tree (may not be applicable to small saplings) most importantly flowers and fruit are key Id features on many plants but not always available.
A picture of the trunk and leaves on a branch may help to rule in or out some possibilities.

 

[cbroad]

What about a type of Ficus carica, the edible fig tree?

The leaves look thick and waxy like them, and I've seen many different shaped leaves on different cultivars and even on the same plant. But I've never seen one with a pointed terminal lobe, but then again I've only seen the cultivars that are hardy in my area, which are few...

 

[cbroad]

The stems of the tree would be a dead giveaway for figs though. Any chance you can get more pictures of the entire plant (buds, stems, etc)?

 

[Starfox]

My initial impression is same as Starfox. If this was in Australia I would certainly pick a Brachychiton species from those leaves. Brachychitons have very variable leaves when juvenile so the leaves on your sapling may not look the same as a mature tree of the same species.
Please note that Id from leaves alone is fraught with difficulty. The more clues we can get the better. Visual clues to ID include: leaf, leaf arrangement on the branch (opposite or alternate), bark, shape of the tree (may not be applicable to small saplings) most importantly flowers and fruit are key Id features on many plants but not always available.
A picture of the trunk and leaves on a branch may help to rule in or out some possibilities.

In Spain Brachychitons are planted out in their thousands as street trees and I think it is reasonable to assume the situation is similar in Portugal. I agree that more pics would help but it would not be a stretch to think they self seed.
The leaves are so variable though from juvenile to older and all in between so nailing it down exactly could be tough but I think it is a Brachy for sure.

 

[BonsaiMatt]

Reminds me of ivy (hedera), there are many cultivars though...

 

[MiguelMC]

I think @Starfox was right on the money at least for the bark texture. I think I'll leave it there for the time being, its in an abandoned are and for now at least the municipal workers should leave it alone

 

[Shibui]

Brachychiton germinate with a very strong, bulbous root which seems to act as a storage unit in case of hard times after germinating. All the brachychiton (mostly populanea) I have transplanted have a strong, thick tap root and almost no lateral feeder roots. That may change as they mature, I have never had occasion to dig anything older than a couple of years.
It does not seem to matter that there are no feeder roots when transplanting and I have had 100% success so far. Even those where almost all the main root was removed have survived so there's probably no need to try to preserve lots of roots when transplanting. Australian natives almost all seem to respond better when transplanted in early summer or late spring. Transplant in cold weather will kill most.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

It could very well be sassafras albidum.
A rare plant here in Europe, but it has been imported from the US a lot during the 70's and 80's.
I have two or three of them, 5 years old and still less than 10cm tall. So no further reference other than the leaf shape.

Check the smell; if you crunch some leafs and it smells lemon-like, you'll know for sure if it is sassafras or not. It's a weird smell, almost lemon-perfume like. I haven't found any other plant that does that.

 

[Forsoothe!]

I think I'd be looking around the area for a smaller one...

 

[MiguelMC]

It could very well be sassafras albidum.
A rare plant here in Europe, but it has been imported from the US a lot during the 70's and 80's.
I have two or three of them, 5 years old and still less than 10cm tall. So no further reference other than the leaf shape.

Check the smell; if you crunch some leafs and it smells lemon-like, you'll know for sure if it is sassafras or not. It's a weird smell, almost lemon-perfume like. I haven't found any other plant that does that.

It doesn't smell like lemon sorry xD

I think I'd be looking around the area for a smaller one...

I not looking to colect it I was just wondering which tree was it and if it was suitable for bonsai since this tree is growing in an area where sooner rather than later will be removed by the municipal services.