I was going to squeal "milkweed!!" with inordinate glee but on second thought it doesn't really look like any milkweed I've ever seen. Mutant dandelion?
from internet: The sweet gum tree produces that little ball with tiny horns that hurts so much to step on barefooted. Inside each tiny horn is a capsule which holds two small, winged seeds which drop in the fall. In the winter, one can see these little prickly balls still hanging high in the tree. The leaf of the sweet gum is star-shaped, with five to seven pointed lobes. The leaf somewhat resembles a maple leaf. If in doubt whether the tree is a maple or sweet gum, check the leaf nodes. If opposite, the tree is maple; if alternate, sweet gum. Also, the crushed leaf of a sweet gum has a distinct odor, like that of balsam. Another sweet gum clue is its corky bark. It forms deep ridges, but not all branches have this corky texture. On the hardwood lumber market, sweet gum is second only to oak for the volume produced.
Good search skills my friend; however, in my intarwub search for leaf images, the leaves look totally different. The pointy ball thing is also hanging from the tree of the sweet gum whereas with the one we have, it looks like it's attached right to the branch in a parasitic way (i.e. clamped right down on it). Thanks for your input!
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Sadly, I don't think the pointy ball thingy is something natural from maple trees. Have you ever seen one with those on it before?
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The sweet gum tree produces that little ball with tiny horns that hurts so much to step on barefooted. Inside each tiny horn is a capsule which holds two small, winged seeds which drop in the fall. In the winter, one can see these little prickly balls still hanging high in the tree. The leaf of the sweet gum is star-shaped, with five to seven pointed lobes. The leaf somewhat resembles a maple leaf. If in doubt whether the tree is a maple or sweet gum, check the leaf nodes. If opposite, the tree is maple; if alternate, sweet gum. Also, the crushed leaf of a sweet gum has a distinct odor, like that of balsam. Another sweet gum clue is its corky bark. It forms deep ridges, but not all branches have this corky texture. On the hardwood lumber market, sweet gum is second only to oak for the volume produced.
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that is the somewhat consensus at work.
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(arg no baby. GET OUT)
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