Some of that looks like armored scale from here. But more importantly, did you actually look at the leaves on that plant and identify it as a JM? It looks more like winged euonymus or something buried deep in my memory, esp seeing that small branch in top foto with alternate arrangement.

Definitely not a JM, definitely is a winged euonymous, aka burning bush, aka Euonymous alatus. Normal for that species, hence the common name of "winged".

+oM

looks like a sweetgum

Ack, looked too fast. Of course you folks are right-sweet gum. We don't have those around here, so that's going to be my excuse, lol.

+oM

Thank you everyone for your help! I thought it was a JM because it had those red pointy leaves and we have at least 3 of that kind of JM in the yard (another 5 of the small ones with feathery leaves and a weeping look....guess the previous owners really liked JMs)

I consulted Dr. Internet to see what a sweet gum leaf looks like and I can see how I was mistaken. Doing a bit of research I see here in MD is a bit on the northern end of it's natural range, so I guess it floated in from a neighbors yard or bird.

Again, I'm definitely no professional (more like an accidentally lucky green thumb) so I really appreciate all the help and advice you all had.

if MD is its northern range.. how the heck do they live in z5 MI"?????

in spring... at leaf out.. post a pic of a leaf ... and these.. and get a full ID ...

and that will really help you in your research ...

in the meantime... keep in mind.. anything that floats into your yard .. is on some level.. a nuisance plant... as where you find one.. you usually find A LOT ...

and another way of saying that is ... its a weed.. and of no value in your yard ...

but thats up to you .... not every free plant is a value ...

ken

And some of us definitely do not agree that most volunteer plants are "weeds", reserving that term for all the mostly non-native herbaceous junk that came here with agriculture. OP obviously appreciates this plant. Why must he/she be shown the (supposed) error of his/her ways?

+oM

Huh. I've never seen Liquidambar with corky bark!

Huh.

Having grown up on property overrun by Liquidambar - IMO it comes about as close to being an 'invasive' native as anything - the corky, winged character was a dead giveaway to me, screaming "sweetgum"!

It's among my most despised tree species (displaying my plantist tendencies, here, VV), and I never intend to plant one here... but if the OP likes it, and it fits in with their desired landscape plan... no probs.

And some of us definitely do not agree that most volunteer plants are "weeds", reserving that term for all the mostly non-native herbaceous junk

==>>> good catch ...

tom.. you are a forester ..;. you have a much bigger concept of nature ... as compared to a suburban peep with a small decorative garden ...

my point was addressed to peeps with 1/4 acre gardens.... who want to cherish every weed that blows into their yard ....

which brings us to one of the many definitions of what a weed is ... ANYTHING that is not valuable.. to the person who has it ...

and imho .... any tree that self seeds itself ... in volume ..... is a weed ... [i have a couple hundred mulberry and juniper virg... on my 5 acres ... they are weeds .. not to mention a bunch of the neighbors norway maple ... buckthorn ... need i go on ...]

ken

No doubt Ken, I go through that very thing here on my postage stamp. I was just pontificating, for no good reason up above. As far as unwanted tree regeneration on a small lot, I used to try to figure out how many seeds my big silver maple produced in a good year....was it hundreds of thousands?.....millions? And couple that with the fact that in the months ahead, I would so manage things as to not allow one seedling, out of all those many that do sprout in every bed, pot, and window box, to take root and flourish in my yard! Not a single one.

+oM

I have thickets of gnarled oak saplings that I can't seem to get rid off, and oak seedlings coming up everywhere. Does that mean oak is a weed tree?

Heh, I've been known to get into enough semantical tangles here, I'll just say, I know all too well the definition of the word weed as any unwanted plant. Yes, I get that. I just don't happen to agree. I think weeds are first of all, non-native plants, usually herbaceous or grasses, which arrived in this continent with agriculture. So, whoever planted the first wheat or whatever early crop, likely brought seed from Europe and that seed-as do most batches-had foreign material in it consisting of the seeds of various species that have since gone on to populate every disturbed corner. And that disturbance is a key component to what in my world are weeds.....species that actually require the constant disturbance that is farming (or construction projects) to take hold to any extent. But that's just me and a few others. Everyone's got their own definition.

Our former golf course guy used to say that the trees on the course were just "hard weeds". He was a funny guy.

+oM

I saw a sweetgum near Baltimore, MD that had so much cork growing from everywhere on the bark/stems that it was badly weakened w/scant foliage and looked grotesque.

I see here in MD is a bit on the northern end of it's natural range,.

OP, you need to find another reference, here is what Gleason & Cronquist says about the range: "Conn. to s. O., s. Ill. and Okla., s. to Fla. and Guatemala."

Didn't mean to start a whole debate on what constitutes a weed. But I do now feel justified in despising the honeysuckle that I can't get under control and starts to "strangle" some of my other bushes or trees.

Since it's a native plant and not an invasive speeches (and I don't think I have any others in my yard) I did replant the sweetgum and it seems to be doing well in it's new spot. We've lost a quite a few trees in the past few years - two giant firs from the duracho, 3 or so dogwoods from that nasty fungus, and most recently (all had to be cut down for various different reasons) a black walnut, several other different types conifers, and a weeping cherry tree:( I figured since we've lost so many, it would be nice to keep this little guy going (my mom wanted to chop it down). The lot is 2.5 acres, so there's space.

e, by any measure, these non-native honeysuckles earn the name "weed" or any other one would care to give them! Bad stuff once it gets a foot hold, as you've learned. I think you have done right to retain these sweetgums.

+oM

Sweetgums grow further north than many "southeast" trees. Seen some wild ones growing in the forest as far northwest as the Kanahwa River valley just upstream of Charleston, WV.

Strange that some tree species from very distant genuses like ulmus, acer, euonymus and apparently liquidambar develop that kind of corky ridges

Here's an elm with winged bark. What benefit do the wings provide?

Winged elms are a weed where I am. They pop up everywhere and live about 10-20 years before Dutch Elm Disease comes around and takes most of them out. I do like sweet gum trees, probably in the minority there. I wouldn't want one close to my house with the spiky balls, but I have an acre with a few along the back of the property.