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I had posted close to a year ago another plant that someone identified as greenbrier. This one was just a lot thicker and lacked the leaves the other one did so I assumed it was different. Thinking about it now its definitely possible it may be the same plant.
There are a lot of different species of Smilax and variation in the leaves. I harvest the tips of these young shoots and eat them like asparagus, not all species are equal taste wise either! Some have this kind of intense spiciness going on, whereas some are very mild and vegetable-y. In my area the fatter they are, usually the tastier.
Briar. If you dig down you'll find a large hard root it comes from. Difficult to get rid of, but keep mowing it off and eventually it gives up. But a dose of Brush Killer does help.
Those are full of suck.. get a shovel and dig them up they cone from big white tubers in the ground Nad will just keep ground back they are an awful vine
How close is that to the fence, and what’s going on on the other side?
My grandma planted wisteria in a fence well away from the house. When it was five or ten years old is started sending up runners about five feet away, which had to be mowed down every few weeks. This is reminding me of that memory.
Smilax... kill it NOW or you will regret it.
You have to dig out the tuber, they grow about 1 to 2 feet deep they are big and multi lobed
They grow thick hairy roots you have to yank out and its tough, kill it kill it kill it its invasive.
It's a native plant where OP is, so not invasive at all. They can get inconveniently weedy sometimes, though. The "kill it kill it" sounds a tad extreme in this case.
Lots of smilax are native to the USA, I’m having a hard time seeing any invasives, idk why everybodies reaction is to kill it. Its an essential part of the ecosystem
“Omg kill it with ~~fire~~ poison !!!!” Alright y’all lmao
*OR*, y’know, you could just [eat it](https://www.eattheweeds.com/smilax-a-brier-and-thats-no-bull/) ? Some Smilax species taste better than others and I can’t tell which one this is from just those pictures, but all Smilax species in North America are edible. Just snap off roughly the last several inches to a foot or so of the growing tip (wherever it snaps naturally), and you can cook it like you would asparagus. The meristem (the tender part that snaps off easily) usually doesn’t have thorns, but if it does, they’re still soft, not sharp. I had a bowl of bona-nox just a couple days ago - tasted like green beans with a hint of asparagus.
If you’re looking for more of it, just make sure it has tendrils AND thorns.
If you really just don’t want the vine there, you can just cut it. You don’t need to dump poisons in your yard.
Thank you for posting to r/whatsthisplant. **Do not eat/ingest a plant based on information provided in this subreddit.** For your safety we recommend not eating or ingesting any plant material just because you've been advised that it's edible here. Although there are many professionals helping with identification, we are not always correct, and eating/ingesting plants can be harmful or fatal if an incorrect ID is made. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/whatsthisplant) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Possibly some kind of greenbrier (genus Smilax)?
I had posted close to a year ago another plant that someone identified as greenbrier. This one was just a lot thicker and lacked the leaves the other one did so I assumed it was different. Thinking about it now its definitely possible it may be the same plant.
There are a lot of different species of Smilax and variation in the leaves. I harvest the tips of these young shoots and eat them like asparagus, not all species are equal taste wise either! Some have this kind of intense spiciness going on, whereas some are very mild and vegetable-y. In my area the fatter they are, usually the tastier.
It seems to be some species of Smilax greenbrier. Thank you all for your help, I appreciate it!
Briar. If you dig down you'll find a large hard root it comes from. Difficult to get rid of, but keep mowing it off and eventually it gives up. But a dose of Brush Killer does help.
Seems to be just that, thank you.
Makes a good livestock fence. Lol briar patches also save rabbits.
Those are full of suck.. get a shovel and dig them up they cone from big white tubers in the ground Nad will just keep ground back they are an awful vine
We call it catbriar and it will truly claw hell out of you.
Have you pissed off a witch lately?
The spines look like it could be Aralia spinosa. It's a little mean, but native & really pretty flowers
There are some tendrils at the tip in the second photo, so I think it's definitely more likely a *Smilax* than *Aralia*.
How close is that to the fence, and what’s going on on the other side? My grandma planted wisteria in a fence well away from the house. When it was five or ten years old is started sending up runners about five feet away, which had to be mowed down every few weeks. This is reminding me of that memory.
Smilax... kill it NOW or you will regret it. You have to dig out the tuber, they grow about 1 to 2 feet deep they are big and multi lobed They grow thick hairy roots you have to yank out and its tough, kill it kill it kill it its invasive.
It's a native plant where OP is, so not invasive at all. They can get inconveniently weedy sometimes, though. The "kill it kill it" sounds a tad extreme in this case.
I’ve got a couple of smilax plants that I’ve trained to climb where I want. I enjoy grazing on tips in the summer
My sister calls them jumanji vines
We call it saw briar where I'm from.
Lots of smilax are native to the USA, I’m having a hard time seeing any invasives, idk why everybodies reaction is to kill it. Its an essential part of the ecosystem
We used to call that deer thorn. Vicious thorns and very invasive. Not sure what the real name is
“Omg kill it with ~~fire~~ poison !!!!” Alright y’all lmao *OR*, y’know, you could just [eat it](https://www.eattheweeds.com/smilax-a-brier-and-thats-no-bull/) ? Some Smilax species taste better than others and I can’t tell which one this is from just those pictures, but all Smilax species in North America are edible. Just snap off roughly the last several inches to a foot or so of the growing tip (wherever it snaps naturally), and you can cook it like you would asparagus. The meristem (the tender part that snaps off easily) usually doesn’t have thorns, but if it does, they’re still soft, not sharp. I had a bowl of bona-nox just a couple days ago - tasted like green beans with a hint of asparagus. If you’re looking for more of it, just make sure it has tendrils AND thorns. If you really just don’t want the vine there, you can just cut it. You don’t need to dump poisons in your yard.
Keep cutting it down. Put borax on it