NAT. ORDER. 



Vitacece. 



VITIS VINIFERA. COMMON GRAPE VINE. 



C/ass V. Pentandria. Order I. Monogynia. 



Gen. Char. Petals cohering at the ajiex, withering. Berry five- 

 seeded, superior. 

 Spe. Char. Leaves broad-cordate, angularly sub-three-lobed, cin- 

 ereous-tomentose beneath. Racemes small. Berries large. 

 The vine sends off numerous long, slender, climbing branches, 

 and is covered with rough, dark-brown bark ; tlie leaves are 

 roundish, deeply serrated, commonly divided into three lobes, and 

 stand alternately upon long footstalks ; the Jloivers are small, and 

 produced in S2jikes ; the calyx is divided into five small narrow seg- 

 ments ; the petals are fine, small, oblong, whitish, withered, adherent 

 at their ajjicies, and soon fall off; the ?i.\e filaments are tapering, 

 and furnished with simple anthers ; the germen is egg-shaped, 

 without any style, but supplied with a cylindrical stigma ; the fruit 

 is a large round berry, of one cell, and contains five hard seeds, 

 of an irregular form. The flowers appear in June and July. 



The vine is a native of most of the temperate 2^arts of the four 

 quarters of the globe, and is successfully cultivated between the 

 thirtieth and fifty-first degree of latitude. Through the effects of 

 culture, and a difference of soil and climate, numerous varieties of 

 grapes are produced, diflfering widely in shape, color, and taste, and 

 affording wines which are known to be extremely various. Vine 

 leaves, called ^ww/;»r/, and the tendrils, or cajireoli, have an astrin- 

 gent taste, and were formerly used in diarrhceas, hemorrhages, and 

 other disorders, requiring refrigera''t and styptic medicines. The 



Vol. u.— 49 



