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photo ©Dylan Edwards

What did I just say about tree-shrouding vines? This rather aggressive plant is a mustang grape, and it's all over the place. It also attacks bushes, and pretty much anything else more than a couple of feet off the ground. Grape vines, like blackberries and Japanese honeysuckle, are basically weeds in Texas. Sweet, yummy weeds. (Actually, mustang grape, while edible, is not particularly sweet. It is mostly used for making pies and wines. You can certainly eat mustang grapes raw, but the skin, which you don't want to eat, is extremely thick and tart, and the meat is fibrous and difficult to chew. In other words, don't expect anything like your typical grocery store grape.)

Here's a closer look at the leaves and unripe fruit:

photo ©Dylan Edwards