Greenbrier in autumn, part 3

The picture in the previous post revealed how colorful greenbrier can become in the fall, but that closeup didn’t let you see an entire leaf, so I’m adding this view that does. Note some common features of greenbrier leaves: the small prickles on the perimeter, the irregular light-colored patches in the interior, and the overall lobed shape. Though that shape can be a conventionalized heart, it’s safe to say that only someone with the most prickly of personalities would give this plant as a Valentine.

For those interested in the technical side of photography, I’ll add that because greenbrier leaves are curved surfaces, I was surprised to be able to get almost all of this leaf in focus at an aperture as wide as f/5. I’ll also add that greenbrier leaves have a somewhat shiny coating that can show up as a distracting sheen in photographs of them, but I managed to avoid that here.

This picture, like the last one, comes from the partly sunny afternoon of December 17 in the relatively new “panhandle” of St. Edward’s Park that’s on the east side of Spicewood Springs Rd. in my part of Austin. For more information, including a state-clickable map showing the places in the southeastern United States where Smilax bona-nox grows, you can visit the USDA website.

© 2011 Steven Schwartzman