The thorns of multiflora rose are recurved (scroll down for that closeup), so it is not hard to ease one's way into the shrub to reach its base to perform some "management" there. It is, however, somewhat more difficult to extract oneself from the shrub. Did you know multiflora rose can rip clothes?
There are several species of native rose, but the introduced species that is so invasive can be distinguished both by its invasiveness and by the hairy stipules that appear at each compound leaf's base. Multifora rose (Rosa multiflora) was deliberately introduced for soil conservation and promoted as a living fence for livestock. It has since become the scourge of everyone who enjoys or works outdoors.
