Vitls labrusca, 



Vitis labrusca, 



THE AMERICAN WILD VINE. 



Synonr/mes. 



' LiNN^cs, Species Plantarum. 

 MicHAux, Flora Borealj-Americana. 

 - De Candolle, Prodromus. 

 I Loudon, Arboretum Britannicum. 

 [ ToRREY A.\D Gray, Flora of North America. 



Vigne cotonneuse, Vigne sauvage de ) pj, jj^nj. 



TAmerique, 

 Filziger Weinstock, Baumartige Rebe, 

 Vita lambrusca, Uva labrusca, 

 Wild Vine, Grape-vine, Fox Grape, 

 Shominawtig, 



Germany. 



Italy. 



Britain and Anglo- America. 



JIB WAY Indians. 



Derivations. The specific name labrusca, according to Loudon, is derived from the Hebrew busca, a grape, and was applied 

 to this species by Linnaeus, from a supposed resemblance which it bore to the wild vine of Europe; hence the Italian names. 

 The French and German appellations have reference to the down on the under side of the leaves. It is called Fox Grape, (or 

 rather Northern Fox Grape, in contradistinction to the Fox Grape of the southern states, or the Vitis vulpina of Linnaeus.) 

 because the whole plant has sometimes a disagreeable, foxy smell. The Indian name is derived from shomin, a grape, and 

 awtig, a tree. 



Engravings. Pluraier, Description des Plantes de I'Amerique, t. 259, figure 1 ; Hoffy, Orchardisl'a Companion, ii., pi. 

 Loudon, Arboretum Britannicum, i., figure 141 ; and the figure below. 



Specific Characters. Sexes dioecious or polygamous. Leaves heart-shaped, rather 3-lobed, acutely 

 toothed, downy beneath, with the peduncles tomentose and rather rusty. De Candolle, Prodromus. 



Descrijilioti. 



" The vine too, her curling tendrils shoots, 

 Hangs out her clusters glowing to the south, 

 And scarcely wishes for a warmer sky." 



?^^^HE Vitis labrusca is a tendriled climber, 

 , growing to about the same height as 

 ^ the wine-bearing vine of Europe. The 

 W^M stem is very long, sometimes running 

 to the top of the highest trees, and the branches 

 are clothed with a brownish pubescence. The 

 leaves are much larger than those of the Euro- 

 pean species, being usually from four to six inches 

 in diameter, distinctly three-lobed in some varie- 

 ties, short, mucronate, and densely covered on 

 their under sides with a whitish, or rusty down, 

 particularly of the latter colour on the veins. 

 The flowers, which appear in June, are of a yel- 

 lowish-green, and are borne on somewhat com- 

 pound racemes, with short, umbelliferous branches. The berries, which usually 

 arrive at maturity in October, are half an inch or more in diameter, globose or 

 oblong, and are generally of a dark purple, when ripe, and of a pleasant flavour, 

 particularly when cultivated ; but in some varieties, they are of an amber-col- 

 our, or greenish-white, of a strong, musky taste in a wild state, and are filled 

 with a tough pulp. A peculiarity exists with regard to several varieties of this 

 species, of producing a second crop of fruit on the shoots of the same year ; but 

 it seldom arrives at maturity except in a warm season, with late autumnal frosts. 

 Varieties. Several attempts have been made to classify the varieties of this 

 species, but not with much success. In most cases, the form and colour of the 



