216 NOMENCLATURE OP GRAPES, 



American species of the Vine. 



In order to concentrate whatever light can be thrown on 

 the subject matter of the present work, I have extracted the 

 following dissertation from the Medical Repository ; Hexade 

 2. vol. I. 



Account of the Species, Hybrids, and other varieties of the Vine of 

 North America, by William Bartram, Esq. of Pennsylvania. 



The most obvious characters which distinguish the grape- 

 vines of America from those of the old continent, are, 1. The 

 berries of all the American species and varieties that I have 

 seen, approach the figure of an oblate spheroid ; that is, the 

 poles are flattened, and the transverse diameter is longer than 

 the polar : however, I have observed that Alexander's grape, 

 and some of the bullet grapes, approach nearer to an oval or 

 ellipsis, which is the figure of all foreign or European grapes 

 that I have seen : viz. a prolate spheroid. 2. Most of the 

 American species and varieties have a glaucous and yellowish 

 pubescence on the under surface of their leaves. 3. All that 

 I have observed in the northern and eastern districts of the 

 United States are polygamous ; i. e. those vines which bear 

 fruit (female) have hermaphrodite flowers (pentandria mono- 

 gynia) ; but the males have only five stamina, without any 

 female organ, and are always barren. One would suppose, 

 from Walter so strongly marking this character as to induce 

 him to place Vitis in the class Dicecia, when Linnaeus and 

 the other European botanists have placed it in Pentandria, 

 (he himself being an European,) that all the grape-vines of 

 the old continent are hermaphroditous and pentandrian. I 

 know not, from my own observation, whether the Bull-grape 

 of Carolina is hermaphroditous or dioecious, and therefore 

 rest satisfied with Walter's assertion. 



With regard to the vine of America, I find a great difficulty 

 in discriminating the species from varieties of hybrids, which, 

 perhaps, may be partly accounted for from some of our vines 

 being dioecious, and there being a greater number of male 



