Small Tree Id

This came up in the field, and I've seen 4 or 5 of them. Hoping they're italian alders, but I'm not holding my breath. Not cutting for the time being.

William

William, do you see any mature trees with the same characteristics anywhere nearby?
I was thinking that the birds may have brought them in ?

@miles
Nope. We have a couple oaks from neighboring land, and some mulberries from birds I suppose. I have a feeling some of the the black locusts were suckers, since they got so big in 1 year. Some BL were from seed blowing in, as it's concentrating on the other side of the road from a BL-dominant hedge. There's a butterfly bush (Buddleja davidii) that I have seen, but that's about it. Some maples came in too, so I potted them up and planted them out.

This woody fellow is present in different parts but there is no tree like it nearby. We're basically surrounded by trees in one way or another, except for a 50 meter section. But it's mostly Oak, Black Locust, Maple, Elder.

William

Couuld be goat willow or this chap http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salix_cinerea

David

Willow would be a candidate, as there are willows around. But it's growing slow for a willow. I put down three sticks of willow and they shot up within a year to 1 meter+. These have been hanging around, doing their thing.
William

I might guess 'Black Gum' ...which if it is black gum, they are well known for 'suckering root systems, that generally don't run real deep'. The sucker, the size like you have usually has a fairly tough stem, and the leaves don't have any notable odor, nor taste when crushed. The tender leaves have a smooth edge, not saw toothed. nor fuzzy or rough in any way, and they are one of the first trees to turn red in the fall. The roots are generally a very light tan color, and often on the sucker's root, you will find a rather large nodule or bulge, close to where the stem rises out of it, often a pronounced tap root is not found on suckers, but as the tree matures they will grow some deeper roots. Black gum is also known to be a 'slow grower'. Here is a pix of a black gum sucker, (Nyssa sylvatica) which are fairly common in the USA,...Italia, I have know idea if they are common over there. They also grow from seed, that sort of resembles a green berry, that ripens to dark dark blue, generally not much flavor, or fragrant.

james beam

It looks like Portugese Laurel Prunus lusitanica.

Prunus lusitanica seems more elongated in its leaf structure. But maybe. There are some wild plums nearby.
W