Family: Vitacea
By Audrey Vizena
Information:
The genus Vitis contains about sixty species. They are found mainly in the temperate zones of the Northern Hemisphere and are distributed almost equally between America and Asia(Mullins, et. all, 1992). Vitis plants are perennial, woody deciduous vines with tendrils opposite many leaves which aid the plant in attachment to supports in cultivation and surrounding vegetation in nature. Grape flower parts are in fives, or multiples thereof, and the leaves are simple and palmately lobed(Galletta, 1990). Grapes are polygamodioecious, requiring nines of both sexes for unequivocal identification (Moore, 1985). This can sometimes make it difficult in distinguishing among the many different species. The genus Vitis is subdivided into two subgenera: Euvitis and Muscadiniae based on various morphological criteria and somatic chromosome number, with the former having 38 and the latter having 40.
Among Vitaceae's nine genera, only the genus
Vitis produces grapes suitable for wine making. Four of the other
nine genera do produce grapes and grape-like berries, but none
have given an adequate wine like Vitis(Robinson, 1986). The grapevine
is the world's most widely grown fruit plant; it is cultivated
on all continents except Antarctica. All over the world, grapes
are grown for use as fresh and dried fruit, grape juice, table
wines, champagne, etc. However, more than 80% of the world's grape
crop is used for wine production (Mullins et. all, 1992).
Species List:
American Species
Eastern Asian Species
European and East Central Asian Species
North American Species
south eastern zone |
-courtesy Galletta and Himelrick, 1990; Robinson,
1986; Mullins et. all, 1992).
Identification
due to sheer number of species,
see Jancis Robinson's Vines Grapes and Wines 1986, or The New
Illustrated Encyclopedia of Gardening for a description of the
differences among species.
Vitis labrusca was the first American vine to be identified, in 1763 (Robinson, 1986). It most likely arose in the Appalachian mountains area, with a preference for sandy habitats, an environment unfavorable to many other Vitis species (Mullins et. all, 1992). V.labrusca is also known as the concord, or the Fox grape, for its "foxy" flavor. It is large leaved and vigorous with dark purple, or reddish fruit, with a sweet musky taste (Everett, 1990). V. labrusca belongs to the subgenus Euvites and differs from V. rotundifolia, which belongs to sub-genus Muscadiniae. V. rotundifolia is a very vigorous vine; its branches may grow to a length of 100 ft. The rounded or ovate leaves are up to 41/2 in. long and wide and the fruits are large, round, and purple, with a musky flavor (Everett, 1990). The fruit does not grow in conventional bunches, and when ripe can be shaken from the vine The fruit is also known by the name muscadine or scuppernong, and can be found native to the southern states, growing nowhere else, save as an exotic(Gohdes, 1982).
References
Everett, T.H. (Ed.) (1990). New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Gardeninng. New York, NY: Greystone Press
Galletta, G.J. (Ed.). (1990). Small Fruit Crop Management. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prenntice-Hall
Gohdes, C. (1982). Scuppernong: North Carolina's Grape and Its' Wines. North Carolina: Duke University Press
Moore, M. (1985). A Systematic Study of Selected Vitis Taxa in the Southeastern United States Athens, Georgia.
Mullins, M., Bouquet, A., & Williams, L. (1992). Biology of the Grapevine. Cambridge: University Press
Robinson, J. (1986). Vines, Grapes, and Wines. London: Mitchell Beazley.
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