Bristly Greenbrier

If, like me, you enjoy spending time outside landscaping your yard and providing habitats for wildlife then you are aware of the struggle of battling weeds. This battle is seemingly never ending and thankless. We work long, hard, hot hours trying to make our yards beautiful only to be thwarted by tenacious weeds. Imagine if you could get paid to remove weeds, it would be a lifetime of job security and pay checks.

But I challenge you to not work so hard to remove those weeds, instead maybe we should rethink our stance on what we deem noxious plant life. After all Ella Wheeler Wilcox said it best when she said  "A Weed is but an Unloved Flower."

Bristly Greenbrier is native to the Eastern United States and a weed I've cussed on more than one occasion. Manically pulling weeds from flowers beds only to grab a handful of painful, dense thorns is pure agony. With a determination that borders on obsession I am trying to find the good in weeds.....or as is the popular mantra goes these days, wildflowers and wild edibles, NOT WEEDS. Positivity wins, right?  Believe it or not Greenbrier is edible, and from what the research I've done suggests, a very good one. Native Americans likely used this plant as part of their diet and with good reason. The roots of the plant can be pulverized and used as a starchy thickener in foods. In the spring the new, tender growth is reported to have a texture similar to asparagus, but more mild and slightly acidic in taste. Make sure to pick the leaves when the vine is still green and thorns have not hardened. They may be eaten raw or cooked (I assume much like you would cook spinach)The berries which set on late in the season are also edible, but might not be worth the effort as they are very seedy with very little flesh. However, if you found yourself in a survival situation and were looking for something to eat, these berries would definitely be a contender.

With no cultivated counterparts found in grocery stores, like we see for wild mustard, and other greens, greenbrier is considered a true wild edible. There is a long history of medicinal uses, including making a tea out of the leaves to aid in stomach upset. Roots of some species of

Greenbrier were ground and made into a paste to treat skin diseases as well as gout and to reduce flatulence. If you find yourself gassy, just make a paste of this plant root and no more farts!  Identifying greenbrier is easy, as very few plants resemble it. It always grows as a vine with straight evenly spaced thorns, some species have more densely packed thorns than other species. Bristly greenbrier is covered in thorns! This vine grows up to 20 feet in height, and does not spread out like other thorny vines or bushes. Leaves are rounded, and small tendrils can be seen on the vine assisting with its climbing nature. The black greenbrier berries develop in loose bunches in autumn and remain through the winter, I have seen them stay on the vine all the way into March. Birds and other wildlife will enjoy the berries for hard to find nutrition in winter, but this also a means to transplant the vine to other locations. Birds eat the berries, birds poop the berries, and viola' you have a new vine in your yard. This vine can be spotted  from quite a distance so you won’t need to climb through looking for them, but you might need to climb through to get to them.

Many of us have heard the tale of Brier Rabbit and his mischievous trickster nature. It is believed the bristly greenbrier is the famed Brier patch rabbit begged fox not to throw him. Stories of Brier (or Brer) Rabbit originated among African peoples and the stories persevered throughout enslaved African Americans who viewed him as a hero of sorts. A fictional character who persevered amongst great adversity, by his wits alone. Brier rabbits ability to trick his enemies and escape threats made him a much loved folk hero among African Americans, as well as white man.

As spring is waking up from its long winter nap, green is slowly returning and weeds are beginning to cover the landscape....my challenge to you is tolerate "weeds" a little more, and don't stress yourself over the never ending battle to keep them in check. Perhaps, if you are adventurous enough you might even try some brier tea or a little brier in your salad.