VITIS CALIFORNICA , 




Vitis californica Tall climber, leaves roundish to reniform, cordate, pubescent 
or floccose underneath, some of them 3~5-lobed but commonly not so; flowers very | 
fragrant: fruit about 1/3 inch in diameter, purple and very glaucous. California? 
---- Hortus Second, 1941 | 

Vitis californica, Bentham, Bot. Sulp. 10 
Synonym: j 
Vitis Caribaea, Hook and Arn. Bot., Beechey, 327 
“North California Grape" 
Plant: Climbing moderately, or vigorously, as seen by the writer in Santa 
Rosa and Napa Valleys at Chico and at Redding in Sacramento Valley, also at Grantis 
Pass, Rogue River, Oregon; branches tapering; growing tips little elevated in 
expanding leaves; often the vines are seen completely enveloping small trees with 
a dense canopy of leaves. 
Roots: Fibrous, rather soft, transversely wrinkled. 
Wood: When young reddish or pale green, angled and somewhat covered with long * 
whitish hairs, becoming floccose and remaining into the winter, or in Eldorado i 
County specimens, covered with short brown pubescence, similar to V. cinerea; 
when mature, browning or grayish, finely striated, soft, sectional view circular 
or often oval, rays distinct, pores open; nodes large and a little bent; dia- 
phragm nearly plane, medium thin; bark the second year easily loosening in 
fibrous plates, on old wood finely striately checked and persistent as in V. cinerea — 
buds small, sub-pyramidal, ovoid or acute, covered with whitish or browmish wool 
at summit, when opening in spring grayish violet or nearly white, becoming greenish- © 
violet; tendrils mostly once forked, sometimes twice, 3" to 5" to fork, inter- 
mittent, wooly when young, persistent,internodes medium in length, 3" to 6" or 
more, variable in same branch; pith large, light brow, abruptly and broadly ter- 
minating above, narrow and gradually terminating below the diaphragm, especially 
so in Sierra Nevada Mountain specimens. 


Leaves: Stipules small to medium, cordate, membranaceous, hairy; petidle 
generally about half as long as blade is wide, narrowly grooved on upper side, 
distinctly striated; thinly covered with white cottony hagrs and velvety pubescence, 
color violet or crimson; blade medium to large, varies in sizte from 2" to 4" in 
leng#h by 3" to 5" or more in width; shape broadly cordate or nearly reniform; 
basal sinus acute or often obtuse, rounded; basal lobes more or less closed, often 
lapping; outline usually entire or 3 or rarely 5 shallow, obtuse lobes, with 
narrow rounded sinuses; summit rounded, or obtuse pointed, teeth medium broad, 
nearly regular, shaklow, convex or with margins nearly straight, obtuse or right- 
angled, not mucronate;.venation from generally 6 pairs of not guite opposite, 
very little elevated, pubescent ribs; pubescent tufts in forks, space between 
ribs thinly or not at all felted with silky hairs; upper fece at first covered 
with whitish silky hairs, but soon becoming smooth; at maturity when about ® t 
shed, the leaves often change to bright orange red or scarlet. Leaves °” ea 
year not lobed. 

