I'll just add... Columnea or Nematanthus, Gold Fish Plant Limonium perezii, Statice or Sea Lavender Pittosporum tobira, Japanese Mock Orange

The "fan tree": Schefflera arboricola (syn. Heptapleurum arboricolum) is a flowering plant in the family Araliaceae, native to Taiwan and Hainan. It also goes by the common name "Dwarf Umbrella Tree" It is an evergreen shrub growing to 3-4 m tall, with weak, often trailing stems scrambling over other vegetation. The leaves are palmately compound, with 7-9 leaflets, the leaflets 9-20 cm long and 4-10 cm broad (though often smaller in cultivation). The flowers are produced in a 20 cm panicle of small umbels, each umbel 7-10 mm diameter with 5-10 flowers. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schefflera_arboricola

Wow, that was a quick reply! Looks like it may be Smilax ecirrhata, it is native to Michigan. Thanks jaynine for your help. This quote might explain why it disappeared: "Populations of this plant are threatened by the overpopulation of White-tailed Deer", from http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/woodland/plants/up_carrionflw.html - there are lots of deer in this nature center. This post was edited by westmichiganflorafau on Wed, Jan 21, 15 at 7:40

At that size it could be a number of things. Probably need to wait while it grows out some more.