Rhus of some kind (sumac). Google that and see what you think.

Sara

Hmm that actually is very close based on some of the google images of the leaves/branches. Wonder if anyone else would confirm that? Thanks for your reply

Sumac, maybe - but at 40 ft tall, I'd be thinking Tree of Heaven(or Hell), Ailanthus altissima.

Not 100% sure only because most pictures of sumac I see have red buds/ flowers. But anyway, you guys are not gonna believe this. Just now as I'm writing this the township is here by with bush hog mowers and are mowing over all of the small trees so I wont be able to confirm anything :/ lmao

Whether they are sumac or Ailanthus, the brush hogging will only be a temporary nuisance to them. They will be back...

John

Yes they will be back. In a short time. All of these small trees/brush grow like weeds next to the road. What I discovered is that where a large group of these trees were growing together was actually on or near the old trunk of the tree that was cut down a couple years ago. I will probably be back when they do grow back with different pictures of more types of these brush/weeds next to the road for iding. It's interesting to see the variety.

Characteristic smooth, pale new shoots of Rhus glabra are visible in your picture. When people suggest plant identifications on the internet and all a body does is compare whatever pictures they happen to find, without reading descriptions, to see what to look for, then they can have trouble arriving at a satisfactory conclusion. I've seen threads where correct identifications were dismissed because no reading of descriptions was involved. Look for a page showing/telling what particular identification features smooth sumac has, I think you will find it fits. Since this is a North American native there is probably one such put up as part of a botany, native plants etc. site.

This post was edited by bboy on Thu, Jun 13, 13 at 14:42

Well it's funny, just as I was about to make a post saying that I am now much more confident that it was an Ailanthus, you say it might not be. The reason I said I'm more sure of it being and ailanthus is because of the way the new leaves are growing in as small red growths on top. That is very consistent of the tree of heaven based on pictures I've just seen. On the other hand, I can see why you say that it is a sumac because sumac and Ailanthus look almost identical when they are saplings. Another reason it might be an ailanthus is that I remember the old tree that was cut down growing to a height of around 25 feet in ~ 8 years. I can understand people getting confused because they are so identical. People actually call the ailanthus stinking sumac, Chinese sumac or shumac among others because of how closely they appear. Looking at the leaves, there is almost virtually no difference. It would also help if the picture I provided was a little higher quality, but it was taken with a droid camera through a pair of 15x70 bins lol.

Anyway I found a picture to show what I mean:

http://www.plantsystematics.org/imgs/robbin/r/Simaroubaceae_Ailanthus_altissima_41454.html

This post was edited by kuna on Thu, Jun 13, 13 at 15:03

When I first moved into my property I noticed those growing all over the place. I have quite a few mature black walnut trees growing wild in the wooded area of my property and I thought that's what they were at first because of the similar leaf configuration, but I've since learned that they are some sort of Sumac. I just whack them down with the rest of the weeds.

How do you know they are sumac? A quick test would be to smell the tree because if it smells bad it's probably a ailanthus

"Looking at the leaves, there is almost virtually no difference."

...only to the very untrained eye. Get a close-up of the leaflets and an Ailanthus ID can be confirmed or ruled out in a hurry.

I spent one summer in the late 70s as a botany student working on a grant in upstate NY. To amuse ourselves, we would bet on distance Rhus glabra/Ailanthus IDs - both were everywhere. At the beginning of the summer it was 50-50 whether we'd get it right, by the end we knew the difference, even at quite a distance. Not surprising that someone looking at them for the first time would have trouble telling them apart unless side by side (and NOT in flower!) The trait that they share most is portended in John's comment above!

Sara

OP wrote Leaves are very clearly...of opposite arrangement,... Not true, pic shows plant with alternate leaf arrangement.
Distinguish TOH by the presence of one or more glandular teeth at the base of the leaflet. Also female trees bear a papery, persistent fruit which is distributed by the wind. TOH is AKA Ghetto Palm and can result in eyesore like this:
{{gwi:369335}}

sam_md that is a great photo!

When we would see it growing out of cracks in the asphalt of the NJ Turnpike someone would inevitably remark: 'If that's tree of heaven, it's a long way from home...'

Sara

thanks formandfoliage, it's from an ID thread I posted exactly two years ago. I would have preferred to just link to that thread but apparently its no longer available?
Does anyone know if threads go back further than 18 mo on the trees forum and how to access them?

They fall off the edge of the Earth and join Columbus.

So what appears to be the consensus on the tree? After looking at the evidence I personally believe they are ailanthus. I can link to various pictures on the internet that show the red twigs, the small reddish leaves on top which are the new leaves growing in ect. I actually linked a picture in one of my posts which show this exact thing and it matches perfectly with ailanthus. As far as the difference between the leaves, there really is no way to tell with the resolution of the photo. It would be easy to tell by looking up close at the leaves, but they were brush hogged over today and id rather just wait till they grow back, which I know they will. You cant see in my original pic, but on the right side of the picture just out of frame was the old ~1ft high stump of the old tree that was cut down and it had all of the new trees growing out of it, which were the same type you see in my first photo. Here are two examples which show the leaf stem and the new leaves growing in with the reddish color, both of which are clearly visible in my original picture. It's not easy to tell that the leaf steams are red in my OP picture, but on my phone I can zoom in and they are clearly red stems.

http://fieldbotany.pbworks.com/f/1253394165/Ailanthus altissima.jpg

http://www.plantsystematics.org/imgs/robbin/r/Simaroubaceae_Ailanthus_ altissima_41454.html

Both of those pictures show clear evidence that the trees are actually Ailanthus rather than Rhus. Oh and to my comment about the leaves being opposite, I wasn't thinking carefully and was describing the leaflets instead of the entire stem.

To formandfoliage- It's funny that you mention it growing out of cracks in the NJ turnpike because that brown wall you see behind the tree is actually the NJ turnpike sound wall. Just found that comment kind of funny and ironic :)

This post was edited by kuna on Thu, Jun 13, 13 at 23:24

From your original description:

There's the same species of tree nearby that has grown around 40ft tall. There was once this type of tree growing very close to the same spot where this picture was taken, but it was cut down a few years ago. It reached around 30ft in height.

If it got very tall before then it is Ailanthus. Sumac does not get get that big.