Found in NE Ohio. It has a slim central stalk and is 10 feet high at the moment. Judging by the buds at the top it shows no signs of slowing down.
Looks like bitter lettuce to me.
If nobody comes by who knows for sure, maybe check on the many amaranth varieties.
If the stem and leaves have milky juice, it’s some kind of wild lettuce.
Can’t see the top in that pic— does it have a stalk on top with little yellow flowers, looking a little like kernels on a corn cob? If so, mullein:
I pulled a couple of 8-10’ tall ones out that were growing right next to a couple pine trees in our yard (they seem to be symbiotic with pines), considering them weeds and eyesores, and my wife yelled at me- she thought they looked nice. One person’s weed…
Mullein uses everything you need to know podcast and article.
It’s not Mullien.
They have fuzzy leaves.
My first thought on hearing “10’ tall weed in Northeast Ohio” was joe pye weed, but that’s clearly not it, because those would have big, noticeable purple blossoms right around now.
I’ll ask my mom (an experienced wildflower garderner) the next time I see her.
my first guess is wild lettuce. The blossoms would be yellowish and unspectacular. Tear off a leaf and milky sap will ooze at the stem.
Stinging nettle.
Maybe.
My plant identifying app says Tall Blue Lettuce.
Forgot to get back to this thread on Friday-- My mom says that there isn’t any tall wild lettuce around these parts, and she suspects wild primrose.
That sounds very primrosing but I can’t find a photo of any that are tall. I haven’t gotten back to the kid’s place to cut a leaf and check for milky sap yet.
It looks like pokeweed. If that’s what it is, be cautious; it’s poisonous and can irritate your skin. Definitely get rid of is, because once it sets fruit and then seed, it’s tenacious.
I believe pokeweed has rounder leaf tips and a red or reddish stem, plus it tends to be bush-like in its growth rather than straight up tree-like in the OP photo.
10 feet is about as high as an elephant’s eye. Must be some kind of corn.
Can you post a picture of the flowers when they bloom? That might help to ID it.
I finally got back to the son’s house. Here is a photo of the flowers:
