Volunteer in a back corner of my garden. Grows from a woody base. It looks so familiar, but I can't place it.

almost like marijuana

I have an article about a blue flowering, winter hardy hibiscus that they were trying to develop a while back with leaves like that and I have a couple of hibiscus that have similar leaves

http://today.agrilife.org/2012...

Mulberry seedling?

Well, since we're all throwing out guesses, my first thought was Papaya, but that's not likely in Pen. Process of elimination. I think growing from a woody base might be the clue here.

Carol, it does look like a papaya

I would say it's the leaves of an immature Mulberry. The leave shape and size is extremely variable.
Had a similar situation a while back:
The thread "Tree ID needed" in Plant ID forum

I have mulberry seedlings all over. Unless this is a really special one, this is something else. I did think malvaceae myself, based on the leaves, but I've no idea what hibiscus looks like that.

Boy those mulberries get around, I would like one and never get it

Maybe the birds gave you a special one
I hope it is. They are one of my favorites
Did you see the blue in the link

OK, having looked at some of those other threads and external references, I agree that it might very well be mulberry. That means I need to get rid of it, which is too bad - I like those leaves...

Well, that is a shame

That doesn't look anything like a mulberry I've ever seen -- but I'm mainly talking about Morus rubra. Unless you could have thrown seed of papaya out there, I'd say it looks more like some kind of Abelmoschus or like Jolana said, hibiscus.

Okay, I just looked at Greene's and related links. I guess it is some weird form of Morus, most likely related to Morus alba. And from the looks of it, a good move to pull it up!!

Are there any flowers starting?

From what I have learned these are the immature leaves or they leaves of an immature plant. As the plant/tree grows the leaves will take on a more recognizable form. For the tree near my house, the landscapers are forever cutting it back to the fence line, so it may never show its true leaf shape. My plan is to find a way to get some cuttings and allow the tree to grow just long enough to document the change in leaf shape. That's the plan anyway.

Plantrob, is there any way you can hold off digging up the tree to help get a more positive identification? There should be no danger of the plant spreading if you stop the growth before the tree fruits.

Morus rubra is the same way. The young saplings have very lobed leaves and then when they mature they change. With M. rubra, this usually occurs in the second year, if that helps any.

Just out of curiosity, I would love to see what it turns out to be

Me, too.

greene said:Plantrob, is there any way you can hold off digging up the tree to help get a more positive identification? There should be no danger of the plant spreading if you stop the growth before the tree fruits.

I'm not concerned about the tree spreading - the birds do a good enough job spreading mulberries all around, one more source of fruit isn't going to make that big of a difference. But I've had a hard time digging up mulberry volunteers once they've gotten themselves established, so I don't want to let it go too long. I can usually identify mulberries easily, even at a young stage - this one is really quite different looking. I can hold off a little while to see how it develops later into the year.