The asparagus-fern is not a fern.  It is an asparagus, the same genus as the vegetable.  It frequently comes up as a weed, especially under the wires where the birds perch.  Because of its fine, fern like appearance it is frequently used by florists in flower arrangements.

When grown asparagus-fern forms a dense vine easily trained to a trellis. What appear to be leaflets of a compound leaf are really small branches (cladodes).  The true leaves are the small scales at the nodes.

This shows the twining stems of the vine.

Some of the true leaves form these hard, sharp, vicious thorns.

These dark blue berries are a favored feast for the mockingbirds .

   [Classification, Taxonomy]

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