Can you help me identify this tree?

A maple?

They can be either red or yellow in the fall. They are THE most beautiful trees in the fall.

@Dutchess_III I think I’ve checked all the maples. There’s even a tulip maple, but that doesn’t have the right leaf.

Try the Tulip Poplar. Big and yellow this time of year. Leaf is like a tulip. Here’s a site that sells them.

@Tropical_Willie That’s not it. The lobes aren’t pointed. This has very sharp pointed lobes. It looks kind of like the print of an aquatic bird foot.

Beautiful trees @Tropical_Willie! But forget spending $100. I’ve noted which trees around town are the most stunning in fall, and I’ll just pick up maple seeds out of the yards in the spring and plant them.

I would have also suggested the poplar family, but the region seems wrong…

Okay three lobes with center vein, how about Sassafras ? ?

@JilltheTooth There are poplar trees in California, but this isn’t it. The poplar tree lobes are rounded. .

In light of your newer description, maybe a California Sycamore tree? And some of the poplars have very pointy lobes, but your tulip description threw me off. Your bird foot one led me to this.

Good guess @JilltheTooth!

@Tropical_Willie Sassafras has three differently shaped leaves. (I’d forgotten that until running into it trying to ID this leaf) All three have rounded lobes. If you draw 3 45 degree triangles, put the largest in the middle, the other two facing a little towards the left and right; then draw a U from the left point to the right with sides 4 times as long as from the stem to the middle point, you’d have a picture of it. There are only 3 veins running from the stem, one to each point

@JilltheTooth Close. The top picture’s leaf has lots of smaller veins leading off the main veins. The leaf I have in front of me has no little veins. The lower picture has 5 lobes. This has only 3.

Take pictures of your leaf then!

Well, it’s the best I could come up with from my field guide. Good luck!

Maybe some sort of fig? Were the edges of the leaves toothy or smooth?

Try this site: Arbor Day Foundation

I’ve used it to find out what trees we have at our new home. It’s easy to use.

That site is amazing @jonsblond!

@dappled_leaves The edge of the leaf is smooth. It isn’t a fig. I’d know that one.

@jonsblond I went to that site again. I still couldn’t get to my leaf. Thanks.

Okay, everybody. Let’s stop looking. I really appreciate all the help, but I think the thing to do is press the leaf and take it with me when I go to Sacramento again. I can take it to a garden center or something. I have a bird book or two, and a wild flower book, but no tree book. My Google search didn’t get me any farther than it did you. Thanks for your interest and your help. You deserve lots of lurve. When I find out what it is, I’ll try to post it.

Aw! I’ve been worrying about your leaf for two days!
Can’t you take a picture of it @Sunny2 and show that to us?

Can you get free trees from the Arbor Day Foundation?

I’d also like to see a picture and a species identification. :-)

@Dutchess_III and @ Brian1946 Sorry, I don’t have a camera.

Not even on your cell phone @Sunny2?

@Dutchess_III I don’t have a cell phone either.

This question is 7 years old. Did you ever find out what it was? It sounded like a maple leaf to me.

@Dutchess_III It has been 5 years since @Sunny2 has logged on to Fluther.

Ah. Now that I look, a spammer hit this thread and I glanced too fast and thought it was @Sunny2. Now we’ll never know what the tree was. Oh no.