MUNSONIANA GRAPES 



VULPINA GRAPES 



229 



as other grapes would under the same condi- 

 tions, but, nevertheless, they are not adapted 

 to long-distance shipments. Under reasonably 

 favorable conditions, the vines attain great 

 size, and, when grown on arbors without prun- 

 ing, cover a large area. 



Rotundifolia is remarkably resistant to the 

 attacks of all insects and fungal diseases. The 

 phylloxera do not attack its roots, and it is 

 considered as resistant as any other Amer- 

 ican species to this pest. The vines are 

 grown from cuttings only with difficulty, and 

 this prevents the use of this species as a re- 

 sistant stock. However, under favorable cir- 

 cumstances this is a successful method of 

 propagation. Under unfavorable circumstances 

 it is better to depend on layers. As a stock 

 upon which to graft other vines, this species 

 has not been a success. There is great difficulty 

 in crossing Rotundifolia with other species, 

 but several Rotundifolia hybrids are now on 

 record. 



2. Vitis Munsoniana, Simpson. Florida Grape. Ever- 

 bearing Grape. Bird Grape. Mustang Grape of Florida. 

 Vine slender, usually running on the ground or over 

 low bushes ; canes angular ; internodes short ; tendrils 

 intermittent, simple. Leaves smaller and thinner than 

 in Rotundifolia and rather more circular in outline ; not 

 lobed ; teeth open and spreading ; petiolar sinus V-shaped ; 

 both surfaces smooth, rather light green. Cluster with 

 more berries but about the same size as in Rotundifolia. 

 Berry one-third to one-half the diameter, with thinner 

 and more tender skin ; black, shining ; pulp less solid, 

 more acid and without muskiness. Seeds about one-half 

 the size of those of Rotundifolia, similar in other re- 

 spects. 



The habitat of V. Munsoniana is central and 

 southern Florida and the Florida Keys. It 

 extends south of the habitat of Rotundifolia, 

 and blends into this species at their point of 

 meeting. Munsoniana appears to be a varia- 

 tion of Rotundifolia, fitted to subtropical con- 

 ditions. It is tender, not enduring a lower 

 temperature than zero. In the matter of mul- 

 tiplication, its differs from V. rotundijolia in 

 that it can be propagated readily from cuttings. 

 Like Rotundifolia it is resistant to phylloxera. 



3. Vitis rupestris, Scheele. Mountain Grape. Rock 

 Grape. Bush Grape. Sand Grape. Sugar Grape. Beach 

 Grape. A small, much branched shrub or, under favor- 

 able circumstances, climbing ; diaphragm thin ; tendrils 

 few, or if present, weak, usually deciduous. Leaves 

 small ; young leaves frequently folded on midrib ; 

 broadly cordate or reniform, wider than long, scarcely 

 ever lobed, smooth, glabrous on both surfaces at ma- 

 turity ; petiolar sinus wide, shallow ; margin coarsely 

 toothed, frequently a sharp, abrupt point at terminal. 

 Cluster small. Berries small, black or purple-black. 

 Seeds small, not notched ; beak short, blunt ; raphe 

 distinct to indistinct, usually showing as a narrow 

 groove ; chalaza pear-shaped, sometimes distinct, but 

 usually a depression only. 



This species is an inhabitant of southwestern 

 Texas, extending eastward and northward into 

 New Mexico, southern Missouri, Indiana, and 

 Tennessee to southern Pennsylvania and the 

 District of Columbia. Its favorite places are 

 gravelly banks and bars of mountain streams 

 or the rocky beds of dry watercourses. The 

 clusters of fruit are small, with berries about 

 the size of a currant, and varying from sweet 

 to sour. The berry is characterized by much 

 pigment under the skin. The fruit has a 



sprightly taste wholly free from any disagree- 

 able foxiness. Rupestris under cultivation is 

 said to be very resistant to rot and mildew of 

 the foliage. The attention of hybridizers was 

 attracted to this species over thirty years ago, 

 and various hybrids have been produced of 

 great promise for grape-breeding. The root 

 system of Rupestris is peculiar in that the 

 roots penetrate at once deeply into the ground 

 instead of extending laterally as in other 

 species. Like those of Vulpina, the roots are 

 slender, hard, and resistant to phylloxera. The 

 species is easily propagated by cuttings. The 

 vines bench-graft readily, but are difficult to 

 handle in field grafting. 



4. Vitis vulpina, Linn. ( V. riparia, Michx. ) Winter 

 Grape. River Grape. Riverside Grape. Riverbank 

 Grape. Sweet-scented Grape. Vine very vigorous, 

 climbing ; shoots cylindrical or angled, usually smooth, 

 slender ; diaphragms thin ; tendrils intermittent, slender, 

 usually bifid. Leaves with large stipules ; leaf-blade 

 large, thin, entire, three- or lower ones five-lobed ; 

 sinuses shallow, angular ; petiolar sinus broad, usually 

 shallow ; margin with incised, sharply serrate teeth 

 of variable size ; light green, glabrous above, glabrous 

 but sometimes pubescent on ribs and veins below. Clus- 

 ter small, compact, shouldered ; peduncle short. Berries 

 small, black with a heavy blue bloom. Seeds 2-4, 

 small, notched, short, plump, with very short beak ; 

 chalaza narrowly oval, depressed, indistinct ; raphe 

 usually a groove, sometimes distinct. 



Vulpina is the most widely distributed of all 

 American species of grape. It has been dis- 

 covered in parts of Canada north of Quebec, 

 and thence southward to the Gulf of Mexico. 

 It is found from the Atlantic coast westward, 

 most botanists say, to the Rocky Mountains. 

 Usually it grows on river banks, on islands, or 

 in upland ravines. Vulpina has always been 

 considered of great promise in the evolution 

 of American grapes. It can hardly be said 

 that it has fulfilled expectations, as there is 

 probably no pure variety of this species of 

 more than local importance, and the results 

 of hybridizing it with other species have not 

 been wholly successful. 



Vulpina is adapted to a great variety of 

 climates, soils, and locations; vines have with- 

 stood a temperature of 40 to 60 degrees below 

 zero, and they show equal ability to withstand 

 the injurious effects of high temperatures in 

 the summer. On account of its habit of early 

 blooming, the blossoms sometimes suffer from 

 late frosts in the spring. The berries of Vul- 

 pina are small, but there are occasional vari- 

 eties with fruits of medium size or above. The 

 clusters are of medium size, and, if judged from 

 the standpoint of number of berries, might fre- 

 quently be called large. The flavor is sharply 

 acid but free from foxiness or any disagreeable 

 wild taste. If eaten in quantity, the acidity is 

 likely to affect the lips and the tip of the 

 tongue. The flesh is neither pulpy nor solid, 

 and dissolves in the mouth and separates read- 

 ily from the seed. The roots are small, hard, 

 numerous, branch freely, feed close to the sur- 

 face, and do not seem to be well adapted to 

 forcing their way through heavy clays. The 

 vines grow readily from cuttings and make good 

 stocks for grafting, the union with other species 

 being usually permanent. Vulpina is very re- 



