Hello! I live in Columbia, SC in a rented house near the USC campus. A plant with large, lobed leaves (almost fig-like) has popped up in little clusters all over my backyard over the last few months and grown very quickly (2-4 ft tall). It was not there when I moved in last September, so was surprised to see my yard taken over by it. I did a preliminary Google search and couldn’t find anything that looked like it. I can see in one part of the yard where it’s growing out of a stump of what was either a large bush or small tree. Wondering what it is and the best was to remove it. Thank you!
Hi Angela,
this appears to be a young tree of paper mulberry, Broussonetia papyrifera. It can sucker and take over an area.
Sincerely,
Steve Hill, Ph.D., Botanist, SCNPS