Vitis aestivalis
{{Short description|Species of grapevine}}
{{speciesbox
|image = Vitis aestivalis 1120452.jpg
|name = Pigeon grape
|genus = Vitis
|species = aestivalis
|authority = Michx.
}}
Vitis aestivalis, the summer grape,{{PLANTS|id=VIAE|taxon=Vitis aestivalis|access-date=6 August 2015}} or pigeon grape{{cite book|last1=Rhoads, Block|title=The Plants of Pennsylvania|date=5 September 2007|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=978-0-8122-4003-0|edition=2}} is a species of grape native to eastern North America from southern Ontario east to Maine, west to Oklahoma, and south to Florida and Texas.{{GRIN | access-date = 15 December 2017}}[http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Vitis%20aestivalis.png Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map] It is a vigorous vine, growing to 10 m or more high on trees. The leaves are 7–20 cm long, suborbicular, and usually a little broader than long; they are variable in shape, from unlobed to deeply three- or five-lobed, green above, and densely hairy below. The flowers are produced at every third node in a dense panicle 5–15 cm long. The fruit is a small grape 5–14 mm diameter, dark purple or black in colour.Oklahoma University: [http://www.biosurvey.ou.edu/shrub/viaea2.htm Vitis aestivalis] It is the official state grape of Missouri.http://www.moga.mo.gov/statutes/chapters/chap010.htm {{Dead link|date=August 2022}} Summer grape prefers a drier upland habitat.
The four varieties are:
- V. a. var. aestivalis
- V. a. var. bicolor Deam (syn. var. argentifolia Fernald; Silverleaf Grape), formerly called Vitis bicolor, but now considered a northern variation of Vitis aestivalis, native range is in the Northeastern United States and parts of Southern Ontario
- V. a. var. lincecumii (Buckley) Munson
- V. a. var. bourquiniana L.H. Bailey, native to the south, sometimes called Vitis bourquiniana, has tomentose undersides to the leaves
Cultivation and uses
File:Vitis aestivalis 1120453.jpg
Several cultivars have been selected, including 'Norton', a cultivar with a substantial V. aestivalis background, is believed to be the oldest American grape cultivar in commercial production.
Inter specific-hybrids made with the species V. aestivalis, such as Norton, have shown several useful traits for commercial wine production when compared with other North American native grape varieties. These traits include: lower acidity, neutral, "vinifera-like" flavour profile, good tannin structure, and excellent disease resistance.
Unlike most other species in genus Vitis, V. aestivalis does not propagate well through dormant cuttings. This has been a limiting factor for its use in commercial viticulture despite the species's promising oenological characteristics. Propagation of V. aestivalis specimens must typically be made through layering or through green cuttings. The species typically does not tolerate highly calcareous soils.Appellation America: [http://wine.appellationamerica.com/grape-varietal/Norton-%7C-Cynthiana.html Norton / Cynthiana]
It has been claimed that a variety of V. aestivalis was cultivated by the Cherokees and used in some of their sacred rituals.{{cite book | author= Mooney, James | title=History, Myths, and Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees| publisher=Historical Images | year=1992 | isbn=0-914875-19-1}}
Gallery
File:Vitis aestivalis BotGardBln07122011A.JPG
File:Vitis aestivalis (USDA).jpg
File:Vitis aestivalis 1120454.jpg
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242414610 Flora of North America: Vitis aestivalis]
- [https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:309286-2 Plants of the World Online: Vitis aestivalis]
- [http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/Plant.asp?code=A702 Vitis aestivalis 'Norton'], from a Missouri Botanical Gardens website
- [http://www.senate.state.mo.us/03INFO/bills/SB651.htm Official state grape of Missouri], from a Missouri General Assembly website
{{Vitis (grape) species}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q136885}}
Category:Flora of the Southeastern United States
Category:Plants described in 1803
Category:Flora of the Northeastern United States