Greenbriar : Identifying Characteristics
Habitat:
Greenbriar grows prolifically in a wide variety of habitats from dry, uplands to moist lowlands. It is especially common in wooded areas.
Size/Form:
Greenbriar is a woody, climbing vine, often with conspicuous tendrils and stout, thorny stems.
Leaves:
The leaves may be of various shapes, but are often ovate, elliptical, or shaped like a fiddle or arrowhead with distinct lobes at the leaf base. They are simple, alternately arranged, and evergreen or deciduous. Leaves are glossy green and smooth above, paler below, and grow from 2" to 5" long and ½" to 4" wide. The leaf margins are usually entire but may have some prickles along edges and on the underside of the midrib.
Flowers:
The flowers are small, greenish-white clusters or umbels that bloom in the spring.
Fruit:
Greenbriar produces clusters of shiny, black berries in late summer or fall.