Actually, a sapling. Central South Carolina.
Leaf looks dogwood-y to me.
It might be kudzu. There is a picture in Google Images that looks like kudzu.
Must…resist…Python…reference…
Not viney enough for kudzu.
Chinese tallow? If you break a leaf and it has a milky white sap, that is pretty definitive.
Said the distinguished gentleman from WESTERN PA. 
(Do you folks have the kudzu, yet? It’s coming for all of us, y’know. :eek:)
Looks like a lilac bush to me.
Wow. I say Chinese tallow for the win, probably. BTW, kudzu has triple leaflets, much resembling giant, house eating poison ivy. Or pole beans, take your pick.
Chinese tallow, aka popcorn tree, and when the fruit appears you will know how it got that name.
Me too, I feel like any second the reference will just larch from my fingers.
Yeah, China tallow. Invasive, but gets the most beautiful gold and red leaves in the fall if you get a cold snap.
Thanks, all.
Never seen it other than pictures. But I’ve heard about it and I believe it figured in a horror short story I read?