I thought I knew all the plants that would attack me in southern Illinois…then I headed off trail to find a good spot for a cathole and started to push through a shoulder-high thicket of these guys:
This proved to be a mistake, due to the hitherto-unnoticed-by-me spiky thorns all over their stems. I found another spot, so now I’m just left with small punctures & curiosity.
Pretty sure black locust leaves are rounded instead of pointy.
I wonder if they might be honeylocust saplings.
It’s not honey locust either. Those leaves are tiny and very distinctly feathery looking.