Tangled Branches: Cultivated
happenings in and around my zone 6b gardens in northern Virginia and in central Virginia
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Way Entangled
Down at the CeVA house, we're attacking the greenbriar in the woods. It's had the run of the place for some time now, but we'd like to walk through the woods without wearing a snowmobile suit. Not that we have a snowmobile suit anyway. This picture is actually a before AND after picture. We've been chopping away at this for a while and this is the last big entanglement left in back of the house. And it's not just the greenbriar that we have to clear away - it ensnares lots of dead branches too, as you can see here. After we get this group cleared, we'll start on the woods in front of the house.
I thought I knew all about greenbriar, but I noticed that some of the stems I was cutting were different - very prickly and black (blackbriar?). Seems I've got 2 species - Smilax rotundifolia, which is most of it, and just a few Smilax tamnoides. And I never knew that Sasparilla was made from a Smilax. Or maybe not - depends on who you ask.
2 Comments:
In Austin we have a Smilax that pops up everywhere, including in beds and borders. It's a little different from yours, Smilax bona-nox, commonly called Cat Briar.
The name is a good one - a pruning session with an established vine left scratches as if I'd been in a catfight.
I think the thornless one for floral arrangements is Smilax smallii - don't know if that grows around here or in your area.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
I've always thought greenbriar to be an attractive plant- the leaves are pretty - but those thorns are soooo nasty. I have one only pair of leather gardening gloves that they don't go through, and those are just about worn out. I didn't realize there was a thornless Smilax - that would be a huge improvement.
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