Killing vines: Thorny smilax can be quite a nuisance and may be difficult to get rid of Updated: Jul. 30, 2010, 7:22 a.m. | Published: Jul. 30, 2010, 6:22 a.m.

A: The vine in your photo is smilax, aka deer thorn and cat brier. This thorny perennial vine has waxy, heart-shaped leaves. It loves to wind its way through my azaleas, wrap its tough stems ...

Thorns prove that the plants are natural and not created in a lab. The Silver Bullet vines were planted for public view about a year ago as part of Knott’s effort to refocus on its history.

The culprit is Smilax sp. or commonly known as greenbrier, catbriers, hog briers or deer thorns. These vines are native to North America, but there are over 300 species worldwide.

The sinewy, winding tangle of vines studded with thorns resembling sharks teeth, only more of them and sharper, would easily deter all but the stout of heart in pursuit of a romantic ideal. The ...

Boysenberries are propagated by root divisions. The plants will continue to produce both thorny and thornless stems in the future. This was a trait of the parent plant.