Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Are you sure it is a vine? If it is a vine, and there are no living vines growing up the tree with roots in the soil, it is remnants of a dead vine and can do no further harm to the tree. We are wondering if perhaps what you are seeing is Tillandsia recurvata (Small ball moss). If you do, indeed, find stems and roots to a vine you will need to cut it off as near to the root as possible and paint the cut edge quickly with a broad range herbicide, being very careful to avoid touching the tree itself with the herbicide. Then, pull down, from the ground, all of the vine you can get loose from the tree. Watch for regrowth from the roots and keep after it.

From a previous Mr. Smarty Plants answer, we believe that what you are seeing is Tillandsia recurvata (Small ball moss). This is an epiphyte or "air plant," not a parasite. It draws no nutrition from the tree, just uses it as a place to live. They are often seen on oaks, and are native to Texas and a few other states. Sometimes people think they are killing the oaks because they tend to grow on interior, old limbs, where they can get more shade. Here are some pictures and information from the University of Texas Image Archive of Central Texas Plants. They can be unsightly but do no harm. We have heard of people using them to make Christmas decorations.

You will note they look like bromeliads; they are, in fact, members of the bromeliad family.