I'm normally at least halfway decent at identifying plants with thorns. There just aren't that many of them around here, and most of the time they belong to the Multiflora Rose or the Japanese Barberry clan. Oh sure, there are members of the native Rose group, or a variation on the Blackberry or Raspberry theme. But this one, well, the large flattened stem caught my attention as I walked by, and the structure of the buds atop each thorn was unlike anything I'd ever encountered. I'll just have to keep combing the field guides and the Internet for possibilities, but right now, I'm reduced to looking at the plant's structure with equal measures of awe and confusion. It's a thorny taxonomic mystery, but I'm sure that, sooner or later, I'll solve this perplexing conundrum. When I do, I'll let you know.