A tree was dropping the leaves pictured below next to a US quarter in November, at the exact same time as Ficus Carica L (fig) in my area. You can almost always spot figs when dropping leaves around Atlanta, they're rather unique in appearance. I took cuttings for porpogation in case the tree didn't make it through winter, mostly because I've seen hundreds of different varieties of figs and mulberries and NEVER seen one with lobes so long and skinny except maybe Negronne/Violette de Bordeaux.

The leaves, when fallen, had a texture like a cat's tongue or sharkskin in reverse, similar of a fig tree. The young leaves start out shiny and thin (almost translucent), then slowly thicken and roughen up a bit to have that same sharkskin-in-reverse texture. When cuttings were taken, the tree produced a white milky sap which smelled sweet, again, very similar to the fig. The wood has nodes clearly visible up the stalk, and has a white pith spanning between the nodes, with a cambium layer wrapping them (see cross-section in pic 3 below). I took several cuttings and rooted them in a manner consistent with mulberry, fig and other fruit tree scion. I have not seen any fruit on this tree, but have only been watching for ~4 months throughout dormant season. Leaves are alternate, as seen in pic 4 below.

I really, really, really want to ID this plant - I swore it was a fig, but the leaf is like no other fig I have ever seen...yet it shares nearly every quality of Ficus Carica L. The one thing that is drastically different is the buds (pic 5 below), which appear triangular to me, and are present from start of dormancy till bud break. Some leaves are jagged when mature, reminiscent of Ficus Johannis (subspecies Afghanistanica, for example). I've had suggestions it could be a Mulberry - note the leaf shape similar to Morus Alba and the center leaf point similar to Morus Rubra, which are in the same family with figs (Moraceae), which also shares a lot of similar qualities. I'm not 100% convinced it is in the ficus family but ...

I just want a definitive answer. I can't believe for a moment that I'd be finding a unique, never-discovered plant in my humble urban environment.

I am including several pictures so you can see the leaves as they fell in fall (pic 1), the new growth (pics 3 and 4), a bud and leaf scar at the node, the dimples on the bark, the bark/pith/cambium (pics 5 and 6)

I hope that someone can help put this mystery to bed.

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