leaves of this species at maturity are peculiar, as, so far as known to the writer, all our other 

 native species, except V. Munsoniana, turn yellow or brown in ripening. 



All plants tried at Denison, Texas, prove puny and sensitive to moisture and cold; non- 

 resistant to Phylloxera, according to Prof. A. Millardet, but Prof. Hilgarde regards it as resistant. 

 Certainly it is regarded of little value as a graft stock in France, and now even in California. 

 This species is exceedingly sensitive to Downy Mildew, more than V. Arizonica and many 

 varieties of V. mnifera, and it is difficult or impossible to grow plants from seeds in open ground 

 at Denison, Texas, unless preventives of Mildew are used. Grows more or less rapidly from 

 cuttings. The seedy, skinny nature of the fruit will probably prevent any desirable improve- 

 ments by hybridization. It has been found hybridized with V. mnifera of the vineyards of. 

 Northern California. 



19. VITIS GIRDIANA, Munson. (See Plate XXIX.) 



"Southern California Grape." 



Plant: Climbing high, robust, in its native regions often forming dense masses, or canopies 

 on undergrowth and small trees, the foliage presenting a light grayish-green aspect. 



Roots: Rather soft, penetrating, not fully resistant to Phylloxera. 



Wood : Young, densely whitish woolly, the wool becoming flocculent and shedding at maturity ; 

 cylindrical or little angled, finely and regularly striated; bark at maturity cinnamon, or reddish- 

 brown; rays thin, wide apart, pores numerous; rather soft; internodes of medium length, 1^' 

 to 4' or 5', pith small, little enlarged at lower end of internode, nodes enlarged, bent; diaphragm 

 rather thin, 1/16' to 1/8' thick, biconcave, tendrils long and strong, mostly trifid, buds medium 

 to large, subglobose, scales pale brown, both when .dormant and expanding, whitish woolly; bark 

 on old wood finely checking and not shedding readily. 



Leaves: Stipules small to medium, rounded, 1/8' long or less, membranaceous, scatteringly 

 hairy, pale; petiole, slender, 1' to 3' long, woolly, or pubescent or both, having a distinct narrow 

 groove along upper side; blade generally long cordate in outline, rarely lobed length of midrib 3' 

 to 4 ' or more, width of blade 4^ ' to 6 ', or more ; basal sinus mostly A shaped, sometimes n shaped, 

 approaching or lapping, margin bearing teeth, generally large convex, often prominent, acute, 

 rarely very short, or obscure, with mucrons; lateral lobes, when present, and apex, prominent, 

 acute; venation from the mostly 7, sometimes 6 or 8 pairs of small pubescent ribs set alternately, 

 obscure and close together; upper face, when young, densely whitish woolly, the wool becoming thin 

 and flocculent, or shedding at maturity, exposing the pale dull green, slightly wrinkled surface, lower 

 surface between ribs covered thinly with ash-colored cottony hairs, texture fragile. 



Cluster: Fertile, medium to large, 5' to 8' or more long, forked into two nearly equal parts, at 

 an obtuse or broad angle, each fork generally compoundly divided, peduncle 1' to 2' long and 

 with the pale bluish-green or whitish-green rachis, thinly covered with cottony hairs; pedicel long, 

 1/6' to 1/4', slender, little or not at all warty, pale yellowish-white, enlarging very little upward,, 

 cluster difficult to detach from vine. Sterile cluster very large and compound. 



Flowers: Staminate, on long slender pedicels, stamens large, erect; fertile, stamens small, 

 reflexed, short; pistil delicate; slender short style; small stigma. 



Berry: Small, 1/4' to 1/3' in diameter, spherical, black with little or no bloom, persistent, 

 skin thin, tough, and pungent to taste, pulp juicy, melting, very acid till very ripe when it is 

 agreeably sweet, but chemical analysis (Prof E. W. Hilgarde, in report of Experiment Station, 

 Berkeley, California) shows it deficient in sugar, tartaric acid and tannin, as compared with 

 V. Calif ornica (Bethem), from the Sacramento Valley. 



Seeds: 1 to 3 obovate or broadly obcordate; 1/6' to 1/5' long by 1/8' to 1/6' broad, pale 

 pinkish; beak short, blunt or sometimes small and acute, raphe slender, hair-like from beak to 

 notch in top of seed, where it becomes obscure; chalaza, in center of back of seed, narrow, depressed, 

 often a mere rim or crescent in a rather deep basin ; ventral depressions short, wide apart, shallow.. 



87 



