On Fri, 22 Oct 2004 9:20:06 -0400, Royce wrote
We're looking for smilax which have read here is also called
greenbriar. Where can we purchase bulbs?

Smilax makes tubers, not bulbs. You can come to my place and dig all
you want. Happy to get rid of them.

The species I have are native here in Florida. (ISTR there are about
300 species worldwide.) So it's not something I rail against, just live
with. It gets in the way but knows its place too.

It can be pretty. When I was growing up, we used to cut the leaves and
berries for Christmas decorations. The rest of the year we cut it down
and dug it up. Don't have even a prayer of getting rid of it unless you
dig the tubers out.

The thorns can be nasty, but at least are not recurved like blackberry
thorns. Some species have large heavy serious thorns, but few enough
that you can find places to grasp the vine. Others are covered with a
mat of very small thorns, almost a fuzz. In general, if I have to push
my way through thorns, I'd much rather it be smilax than blackberry.

The new shoots are ... fascinating. Up to 1/2" in diameter, several
feet tall, and soft for the first month or too. Almost like a sick
asparagus. My wife and I once cut a bunch for a friend who was in
advertising and delivered them to his office, where he displayed them
to clients for several days.

Edward