Brush - Range & Pasture - Greenbrier

BES-TEX BRUSH ID GUIDE

Greenbrier

Greenbriar, Saw Greenbriar

Smilax bona-nox

Perennial Woody Vine

Plant Type

Woody climbing vine; lily family (Liliaceae)

Life Cycle

Perennial; native

Leaf Habit

[PLACEHOLDER]

Typical Height

High-climbing vine (Texas A&M)

Photo Gallery

Greenbrier green stem with prickles and clusters of round black berries — **Berries and Stem** Photo: sonnia hill, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Greenbrier cut vine showing glossy, mottled, heart-to-arrow-shaped leaves — **Leaves** Photo: Wicked dancer1, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

How to Identify It

Quick ID

Stems

Tough, woody, high-climbing vine with stout, flat prickles
Climbs with many tendrils (Texas A&M)

Leaves

Short-stalked, hairless, bright green both sides
Rounded to heart-shaped base (Texas A&M)

Berries

Green, turning blue-black, 2 or 3 seeds (Texas A&M)

Roots

Spreads hard from long, slender rhizomes (Texas A&M)

Look-Alikes

Other vines

How to tell them apart from greenbrier: [PLACEHOLDER]

Counter script: "If it is a prickly green vine with tendrils and shiny heart-based leaves climbing your fences and trees, it is most likely greenbrier."

Where It Grows

Texas

Central to East Texas (Texas A&M)

Oklahoma

[PLACEHOLDER]

New Mexico

[PLACEHOLDER]

Sites and soils: Trails over trees, shrubs, and fences and in rolling woodlands (Texas A&M).

Best Time to Control

Brush Busters stem spray: in winter.

Greenbrier is a woody perennial vine. No pre-emergent herbicide controls greenbrier.

Treatment Methods

Basal Bark (Stem) Spray

Example product: Remedy Ultra (Corteva)
Mix (Brush Busters): Remedy Ultra 25% in diesel or basal oil
PastureGard HL streamline basal also lists greenbriar: 25% + 10% penetrant (label)

Foliar (Leaf) Spray

PastureGard HL lists greenbriar for high-volume foliar: 0.5 to 1% + 1 qt nonionic surfactant per 100 gal (label)

Individual Plant vs. Broadcast

Brush Busters gives no broadcast recommendation for greenbrier

Product names are examples only. Always read and follow the product label. For product selection and help, contact BES-TEX at 325.653.1300.

Sources: Brush Busters: How to Take the Green Out of Greenbriar (Texas A&M AgriLife) for the Remedy Ultra mix; PastureGard HL label, EPA Reg. No. 62719-637; Texas A&M Plants of Texas Rangelands.