Are you refering to Aralia Spinosa? More or less a tropical looking tree with the nastiest spines along the trunk. Looks like just sticks coming out of the ground in the winter but in summer has wonderful leaves giving it a palm-like aura, and in the fall blooms in sprays of white while the leaves turn burgundy, bright yellow, chartreuse, orange (I kid you not - one tree will give you all those fall colours)?????????

If that is the tree you are refering to and you don't know anything about it, then we have to talk. :O) It's invasive capabilities are amazing. Let me know if this is the plant and I'll fill you in.

I'm loading the batteries in the camera right now so as to be able to take a photo of mine and will check with you later with photos...

That is it, but the seeds are only in the taller of the thicket here and most of them have already been eaten. I gathered one little snip of berries that had just fallen from them and gotten stuck in another small tree.

They are unmistakable, thorns all over the trunks, esp the younger ones, reddish-purple thingies (kind of like elderberries in that respect) that hold the berries, and tropical looking leaves. The only other species that even seems remotely similar near me is Hercules CLub but its fruit looks totally different and I don't think they are on the reddish-purple thingies that look like an elderberry. They are native to my area, so if they escape cultivation it is of no concern to mine. I believe they only persist on disturbed sites according to what I've read online.

I just wanted to make sure that you know the plant. My father planted one on his property about 12 years ago. It began taking over the area and at first it was thought that since the AS looked so nice, it would be OK. Last year a bulldozer was used to remove most from the area leaving only the main tree and two others. It had spread throughout an area 300 feet by 200 feet and was stopping any native from establishing itself. It spreads underground through massive root systems.

I have two which he gave me. I've been able to control them by placing both in an area which we mow everytime the lawn needs a cut. I will also pull out small ones if I see them surface and this year I pulled at least 15 out, some as far away as 3 feet. Folks often ask me for the small ones but so far I have refused after seeing what it did on my father's property.

The birds love the seeds here so I rarely get to even see them mature. It's a great tree for late season pollinators and migrating Monarchs, not to mention it's wonderful structure and all year interest.

that's what we do with the redbuds and the poplar? its some kinda other tree that grows here, its very invasive,, we mow them down. that and pull them. If we see plants that are invasive we like but dont; want to get outta hand, we container it. so far this has worked. ~Medo who is thinking aloud :') sounds like a wonderful tree!!