Trees - Chinese Tallow Tree (Popcorn Tree)
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  (September) I hope you can help me, is there a way to tell the difference between a tallow tree and a red bud. I need to know while they are small. I can not tell by the leaves, and this is what I need.

  I assume you have internet since you have emailed me. An excellent website to see images of leaves, bark, etc is http://www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/wwwmain.html 
The plant you are looking for is Chinese Tallow tree: Triadica sebifera (also, sometimes referred to as Sapium sebiferum). Although the leaves can be somewhat similar, there is a difference. The main difference is the part of the leaf that is closest to the stem. A redbud tree has a definite heart shaped leaf, while the tallow tree leaf is not cut in at attachment, having a more pointed shape at both ends, almost, but not quite a diamond in shape. It is quite distinct. Tallow trees are usually not as noxious a weed in Arkansas as they can be further south. Colder winters--at least in the past, often nipped them in the bud, so to speak.

  (December) I have a tree that has come up in my flower bed that has been identified as a 'Popcorn' tree, or Chinese tallow tree. I would like to know if this tree is worth planting in my landscape -- or I should say planting in a new spot -- not the flower bed?

  Chinese Tallow trees (Sapium sebiferum) get the common name 'popcorn' tree because of the white seeds that form at the end of the season. The Chinese extract the waxy coat on the seeds for soaps and candles, thus the common name tallow tree. Central Arkansas is its northern range of hardiness, and it can get some limb die back in a colder winter. In south Arkansas it can become somewhat weedy. Many southern states list this tree as a noxious weed because of its free seeding potential in warm climates. That has not been a problem in central Arkansas. It can be a pretty tree with wonderful fall foliage, which combined with the white fruit, can be quite ornamental. It is not one of the longest lived trees for the landscape and it is not on my top 10 list of trees to try, but since you have one, you may want to give it a try. Average height is 30 to 40 feet, with a more open, wispy canopy. It is a fairly vigorous grower while young. The white sap of the tree is poisonous.

  Could you please identify this enclosed tree for me? I would like the common and the botanical name.

  The tree in question is a popcorn tree, also commonly called Chinese Tallow Tree -- Sapium sebiferum. The reason for its common names are one: it’s seeds are white and resemble popcorn, and secondly, the Chinese extracted oils from the seeds to make soap and candles. It can be a nuisance tree further south, but is considered relatively short-lived.

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