Ya Heard it Through the Grape Vine

Wild Grape

Given Name: Vitis riparia

Nicknames: riverbank grape, winter grape, fox grape

Family Name: Vitaceae

Hey you! Yes, you with the arms and legs! Do you know what's happening in your garden? No, I mean do you really know?

It's like high school out there: so much drama!

And then there's me, the most common grape in North America, blending into the background, able to take it all in. Yup, I've got the nitty gritty on all your plant pals. You see as I snake through so many different ecosystems- not just my preferred habitats of riverbanks and wetlands but also dryer upland conditions, including forest edges, meadows, fields, disturbed sites and sand dunes- imagine all the plants I encounter.

No! How dare you suggest it? I'm not *gasp* eavesdropping!

Sure, I do learn things but it's not like I'm hiding myself in the shadows (I depend too much on full sun for fruiting to do that).

Hey- speaking of hiding, d'ya know who does lurk? That sneaky hosta. Oh, yes... the things, I've heard...

Remind me to tell you about those tasty tidbits some other time.

Anyhoo, I was explaining how well connected I am. And when I'm talking about being connected to other plants, I mean literally- my tendrils curl around anyplant close by, helping my fast growing, woody vines sprawl along the ground getting the lowdown (like, have you noticed how clingy black raspberry is?) or climb up, up, up, gaining all kinds of new perspectives on my plant neighbours (I mean, who knew that groundnut vines could climb 8-16 feet? And that's just in one growing season- wowzers!). Sure I can be a bit aggressive, shading out shrubs and other plants with my large heart-shaped, three lobed, jagged leaves as I grow up to 75 feet long.

But you gotta understand, you don't get the dirt by being a pushover.

Now, have you heard the buzz yet about my tiny clusters of sweet scented yellow-greenish flowers? I bet you have because they're pollinated in the spring by bees and bumblebees as well as the wind.

Then there's the birds. Oh yes, the birds. It's no secret that they love eating my nutritious, blue/purple fruit, that's slightly smaller than a cultivated grape.

But the real juicy scoop is in their poop. Lol!

Sorry for that mental image. What I meant was that the exciting part of the story is what's in the birds' droppings: my seeds! When they poop, they spread my seeds, getting me out there, networking with new environments. It may not the most luxurious way to travel but, hey, at least I get to board quickly and I can always take the in-flight meals to go (I'm talking about the other organic matter that the bird eats. Yup, you know that famous saying: one bird's poop is another plant's fertilizer... or something like that...).

So, have I sucked you in with my whisperings so far? Well, believe it or not, those are just scratching the surface.

For the juiciest exclusive, which happens to be about how I got into the cultivated grape realm, you need to dig around in history (and the soil) to examine my roots (they're fibrous and shallow, in case you were wondering).

You see, as the story goes, way back in the 1800s the phylloxera louse was inadvertently introduced to Europe, decimating the continent’s vineyards of Vitis vinifera grapevines. Reliable sources say that botanists discovered they could graft Vitis vinifera grapevines onto my phylloxera-resistant rootstock (and that of other North American native grapes too), which saved the industry. Since then, word's gotten around in the grape-growing community and now my rootstock is commonly used to create cold hardier varieties.

But enough about me- let's talk about you.

Oooooo... I like how that makes you squirm!

I can see the wheels turning in your head, trying to figure out how much I know... and how much I'm going to blab. Oh, relax! I won't tell everyone those secrets, I'll just spill the beans about us. Word in the garden is that you, like a lot of people, aren't so sure about me. Well, if it's because the truths I tell aren't always palatable, you're just going to have to develop a thicker skin.

But if it's my thick skin, large seeds and tart flavour that turn you off, I've got info that will make me easier for you to swallow: leave me on the vine until after a frost for a sweeter flavour and then use me for jelly and juice.

Plus, knowing that indigenous people used my juice to treat colds, flues, throat cancer and tumours may further sweeten the deal (you also may want to add sugar for that). Or you can bypass my fruit altogether and just pick my sour flavoured leaves early in the season to use in traditional Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dishes.

So, can I put the word out that you like me?

Hmmmm... you're still unsure about the stories I spread? I totally understand not believing everything you read (or hear in the garden, for that matter) but I swear that you can trust my intel. I may be a busybody who blabs secrets (okay, okay, I am a busybody who blabs secrets) but I only dish the real deal. So come to me when you need the inside info on your outside allies.

Just remember, you didn't hear it from me *wink, wink*,

Gabby Grape

References

Burchill, C. (2017). “Wild Grape”. University of Manitoba. https://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~burchil/pm_canoe/Wild_Grapes.pdf

Casey, P.A. and R.L. Wynia. 2010. “Culturally Significant Plants”. USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, Kansas Plant Materials Center. Manhattan, KS. Available: https://efotg.sc.egov.usda.gov/references/public/va/NRCS_CulturallySignificantPlants_2010.pdf

Catling, P.M., Mitrow, G. (2005, April). The Dune Race of Vitis riparia in Ontario: Taxonomy conservation and biogeography. Canadian Journal of Plant Science. 85(2): 407-415. https://doi.org/10.4141/P03-084

Mooney, J. (2021, August 24). “Native Plant of the Week: Riverbank Grape”. Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichold Arboretum. https://mbgna.umich.edu/riverbank-grapevine/

Rahemi, A., Dale, A., Fisher, H., Taghovi, T., Kellt, J.M. and Bonnycastle, A. (2016, July). A Report on Vitis riparia in Ontario, Canada. Acta Horticultuae. 1136, 33-38 DOI:10.17660/ActaHortic.2016.1136.5 https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2016.1136.5

“Wild Grape: Vitis riparia” (n.d.). North Carolina State Extension. https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/vitis-riparia/common-name/wild-grape/

Yuan, S. (2013, July 29). “Climbers: Vitis riparia”. University of Michigan. https://climbers.lsa.umich.edu/?p=426