Thorny Vines in Maryland.

[Hardcrab]

Hello,
Don't know if this is the correct forum to post this but will give it a shot.

What are the thorny vines that grow in my woods called? I've heard them called "brambles" but that's not the right name I'm sure. They are tough as nails and very thorny. The main runners grow along the ground under the leaf litter then sprout up all along it's length. They climb into trees and everywhere.

Anybody know? Is it Winter creeper vines? Here's a picture of it.

Thanks for any help.

Mark T.

 

[glhs837]

Not sure, but I think it originated in Mordor.

 

[Clem72]

Pretty sure we need to nuke your woods from orbit, just to be sure.

 

[Grumpy]

No clue as to the formal name, just call them briars

 

[GURPS]

dont blackberrys grown from thoose

 

[limblips]

Hello,
Don't know if this is the correct forum to post this but will give it a shot.

What are the thorny vines that grow in my woods called? I've heard them called "brambles" but that's not the right name I'm sure. They are tough as nails and very thorny. The main runners grow along the ground under the leaf litter then sprout up all along it's length. They climb into trees and everywhere.

Anybody know? Is it Winter creeper vines? Here's a picture of it.

Thanks for any help.

Mark T.

Greenbrier (common name) or Smilax (scientific name). As a deer hunter who goes to his stand in the dark I have shed a lot of blood due to them!

 

[getbent]

I have some that are red and fuzzy. Hurts like a b*tch!

 

[Goldenhawk]

I have some that are red and fuzzy. Hurts like a b*tch!

Perhaps wineberry vines? They're red and prickly-fuzzy. Somewhat common in SoMd. My son is allergic to some aspect of them, and a search online indicates that it can cause skin reactions, so it's probably not just the prickly that is annoying.

https://www.google.com/search?q=wineberry+vine

While the vines are certainly annoying, the berries are quite tasty and make a wonderful sweet and tart homecanned jam/jelly. Fruit ripens right about Independence Day each year. Grows best along the sunny edges of paths - like many paths at Myrtle Point Park. Oh, and I've never picked them without getting covered with ticks, so dress and spray appropriately.

 

[getbent]

Perhaps wineberry vines? They're red and prickly-fuzzy. Somewhat common in SoMd. My son is allergic to some aspect of them, and a search online indicates that it can cause skin reactions, so it's probably not just the prickly that is annoying.

https://www.google.com/search?q=wineberry+vine

While the vines are certainly annoying, the berries are quite tasty and make a wonderful sweet and tart homecanned jam/jelly. Fruit ripens right about Independence Day each year. Grows best along the sunny edges of paths - like many paths at Myrtle Point Park. Oh, and I've never picked them without getting covered with ticks, so dress and spray appropriately.

Interesting. I would never have thought any part of it was edible. I'd love to clean them out so I can access the blackberries that grow along with them. Not very big but pretty tasty.

 

[LightRoasted]

If I may ...

Hello,
Don't know if this is the correct forum to post this but will give it a shot.

What are the thorny vines that grow in my woods called? I've heard them called "brambles" but that's not the right name I'm sure. They are tough as nails and very thorny. The main runners grow along the ground under the leaf litter then sprout up all along it's length. They climb into trees and everywhere.

Anybody know? Is it Winter creeper vines? Here's a picture of it.

Thanks for any help.

Mark T.

It is Smilax rotundifolia. Can grow so dense as to be known as a brier patch or a thicket. This is cool; The young shoots of common greenbrier are reported to be excellent when cooked like asparagus. The young leaves and tendrils can be prepared like spinach or added directly to salads. The roots have a natural gelling agent in them that can be extracted and used as a thickening agent.

 

[glhs837]

If I may ...It is Smilax rotundifolia. Can grow so dense as to be known as a brier patch or a thicket. This is cool; The young shoots of common greenbrier are reported to be excellent when cooked like asparagus. The young leaves and tendrils can be prepared like spinach or added directly to salads. The roots have a natural gelling agent in them that can be extracted and used as a thickening agent.

All of which is hard to do when you are dying the Death of a Thousand Cuts.....

 

[GWguy]

All of which is hard to do when you are dying the Death of a Thousand Cuts.....

As a kid, we had these thorns in huge thickets by my house. We would cut tunnels thru them and build forts in them. We were pretty sure no one would bother us there! And yes.... we looked like a bloody mess by the time we were done!

 

[Hardcrab]

Thanks Everybody for your replies.

Just to clarify some things.

1. Mine have never gotten any berries or fruit or flowers or anything on them. Just hellish thorns that go through my welding gloves so I don't know if they are the same kind the poster was talking about making jelly from.
2. They seem to stay the same color all year round, Green. I don't think the thorns are red but I could be mistaken.

And if anybody wants to come and harvest them to eat, please! please! your more then welcome. I've got several acres of them.

Vr
Mark T.

 

[glhs837]

What I would do when I was removing similar stuff on my rental property when it was my house was lay down twine, cut low and let bunches drop onto the twine, step with flight boots, draw loop tight, drag onto trailer.

 

[Lilypad]

If I may ...It is Smilax rotundifolia. Can grow so dense as to be known as a brier patch or a thicket. This is cool; The young shoots of common greenbrier are reported to be excellent when cooked like asparagus. The young leaves and tendrils can be prepared like spinach or added directly to salads. The roots have a natural gelling agent in them that can be extracted and used as a thickening agent.

Amen-you got it! Smilax is horrid. The vine is relentless as persistent. Smilax, also called deer thorn, catbrier and “that effing sticker vine”, is one of the toughest perennial vines with which a gardener has to contend. I dig it up or pull it out of the ground before it gets a foothold!

 

[glhs837]

Good point. I should have mentioned that after cutting, you have to rip the damn roots out, Remove the soil, and turn enough to get all the roots. And still expect to be fighting it for years. which is where the "Screw it, nuke it from orbit" comes in.

 

[Goldenhawk]

Good point. I should have mentioned that after cutting, you have to rip the damn roots out, Remove the soil, and turn enough to get all the roots. And still expect to be fighting it for years. which is where the "Screw it, nuke it from orbit" comes in.

Does RoundUp work?