Vitis berlandieri - Fall Grape

General Information Common Name  Fall Grape Scientific Name  Vitis berlandieri Sun Tolerance  Full Sun Height  20 - 25 m (66 - 82 ft) Spread  15 -18 m (50 - 60 ft) Growth Rate  Fast Bloom Time  Summer Color  Green, Flower Color  Green Type  Creepers & Climbers Native  United States, Europe

Classification Kingdom  Plantae – Plants Subkingdom  Tracheobionta – Vascular plants Superdivision Spermatophyta – Seed plants Division  Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants Class  Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons Subclass  Rosidae Order/  Rhamnales Family  Vitaceae – Grape family Genus  Vitis L. – Grape Species  V. berlandieri

Vitis berlandieri - Fall Grape

Vitis berlandieri common name is Heller’s Grape also known as Fall Grape.  It is native to the southern North America. It is deciduous climbing plant.  It grows to 10 m (33 m) in height. The leaves vary greatly in shape. The large simple leaves are arranged alternately and typically have 3 shallow lobes. Leaves measure 1 to 5 inches (3-12 cm) long with a similar or slightly larger width. It blooms green flowers in Summer. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. The fruits are ripped in Fall, so it called Fall Grape. But the grape ripens in August and September south of the Rio Grande and in October and November in Central Texas. It is acidic until it ripens and then is sweet and quite delicious, but too small for convenient eating and not quite sweet enough to make a decent wine without a little sugar being added. It is small (1/5 to 1/3 inch) with 30 to 70 berries per cluster. The clusters are loose and open, the pedicels (stems) long. The skin is thin, the pulp juicy when ripe, usually with one or two seeds of a coffee color. Ripe berries retain enough acid to make a balanced refreshing drinks. Their small size makes crushing difficult but necessary, and peptic enzyme will help extract the juice. But fruits are not so testy to eat.

It is primarily known for good tolerance against soils with a high content of lime, which can cause chlorosis in many vines of American origin. Lime is a characteristic of the soils of many classical French wine regions and highly regarded vineyard sites, and many Vitis viniferacultivars were well suited to these growing conditions. When American vines were imported to Europe as root-stocks for grafting V. viniferaon, in the wake of the Great French wine blight, it initially proved difficult to find vine species that would grow well in lime-rich soil. V. berlandieri, which had adapted to limestone hills in central Texas, provided the lime tolerance needed to solve this problem. 

Vitis berlandieri - Fall Grape : Flowers

Vitis berlandieri - Fall Grape Fruits

Vitis berlandieri - Fall Grape : Fruits

Vitis berlandieri - Fall Grape Fruits

Vitis berlandieri - Fall Grape

Vitis berlandieri - Fall Grape : Fruits & Bark

Vitis amurensis - Amur grape

General Information Common Name  Amur Grape Scientific Name  Vitis amurensis Sun Tolerance  Full Sun Height  20 - 25 m (66 - 82 ft) Spread  15 -18 m (50 - 60 ft) Growth Rate  Fast Bloom Time  Spring Color  Green, Yellow Flower Color  Green Type  Creepers & Climbers Native  United States, Europe, Asia

Classification Kingdom  Plantae – Plants Subkingdom  Tracheobionta – Vascular plants Superdivision Spermatophyta – Seed plants Division  Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants Class  Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons Subclass  Rosidae Order/  Rhamnales Family  Vitaceae – Grape family Genus  Vitis L. – Grape Species  V. amurensis

Vitis amurensis - Amur grape

Vitis amurensis common name is the Amur grape. It is a species of grape native to the Asian continent. It is a green deciduous tree. In fall it becomes yellow color. It grows 20-25 m(66-82 ft) in Tendrils capable of wrapping around things will entwine the branches of neighboring plants or anything else they can use for support and 15-18 m (50-60 ft) typically spread. The bark is dark, scaly and with vertical stripes on old shoots. 

The leaves vary greatly in shape. They can be solid, three-or five-lobed, ovate or rounded, arched at the base. The size ranges from 9 to 25 cm with sharp edges and rounded-triangular serrate teeth. The surface of the leaves are glabrous above, densely covered with short bristles. In autumn the leaves turn bright colors - red, yellow, orange, brown. It blooms greenish-yellow flower in spring.

Fruits of the Amur grape are spherical black or purple, sometimes dark blue berries ranging from very acidic to sweet, with a diameter in the main to 12 mm, with a thick skin. The sugar content in the fruit reaches 22-23%. In their natural habitat they ripen in late September. The flesh is juicy, the berries are usually sour. The clusters can be large, comparable to the number of berries. In exceptional cases, the length of bunches up to 25 cm, and with a weight of 250 grams (usually 20-70 g).

Most of other grapes it is also widely plant for fruits. They can be eaten raw when ripe. The fruits are mainly use for producing refreshing dink. But Amur Grape plant is looking very attractive so people also very much like to plant it in their garden as an ornamental plant. It is most common in the valleys of rivers and streams, in clearings, forest edges, forests, the lower and middle slopes of mountains, where they climb to trees and spread along the ground. Most grapes species are found in much warmer climates. Only the Amur grape can tolerate winter temperatures down to - 45 °C, and the root zone of the soil to -16 °C.

Amur grape Leaves

Leaves of Amur grape

Flowers of Amur grape

Amur grape Fruits

Fruits of Amur grape

Amur grape Young Plant

Amur grape : Yellow Color

Amur grape : Fall Color

Amur grape : As Ornamental Tree

Amur grape in The Garden

Vitis aestivalis - Summer Grape

General Information Common Name  Summer Grape Scientific Name  Vitis aestivalis Sun Tolerance  Full Sun Height  15 - 20 m (50 - 66 ft) Spread  8 -15 m (26 - 50 ft) Growth Rate  Fast Bloom Time  Spring Color  Green, Flower Color  Green Type  Creepers & Climbers Native  United States, Europe

Classification Kingdom  Plantae – Plants Subkingdom  Tracheobionta – Vascular plants Superdivision Spermatophyta – Seed plants Division  Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants Class  Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons Subclass  Rosidae Order/  Rhamnales Family  Vitaceae – Grape family Genus  Vitis L. – Grape Species  V. aestivalis

Vitis aestivalis - Summer Grape

Vitis aestivalis common name is Summer Grape. It is a species of grape native to eastern North America. It is a vigorous vine. It is growing to 15-20 m (50-66 ft) or more high in trees. The leaves are 7–20 cm long, arraigned alternately, sub orbicular, and usually a little broader than long; they are variable in shape, from unloved to deeply three- or five-lobed, green above, and densely hairy below. It blooms green flowers in late spring. The flowers are produced in a dense panicle 5–15 cm long. The fruit is a small grape 5–14 mm diameter, dark purple or black in color. The fruits are very testy. The dried fruits are eaten as snacks or used in baked goods. The fruits also used to produce refreshing drinks. It is the official state grape of Missouri. More than 80 species of birds and animals eat summer grape berries. Although it is plant for fruits but some it is also plants as a ornamental plant in the people’s garden and home. 

Leaves of Summer Grape

Vitis aestivalis Young Plant

Flowers of  Summer Grape

Green Fruits of Summer Grape

Vitis aestivalis - Summer Grape : Fruits

Vitis aestivalis - Summer Grape Fruits

Leaves of Summer Grape

Bark of Summer Grape

Vitis aestivalis - Summer Grape

Samanea saman - Rain Tree

General Information Common Name  Rain Tree Scientific Name  Samanea saman Sun Tolerance  Full Sun Height  Up to 25 m (up to 82 ft) Spread  Up to 40 m (up to 132 ft) Growth Rate  Fast Bloom Time  Summer Color  Green, Yellow Flower Color  Yellow, Pink Type  Tree Native  South America, South Asia

Classification Kingdom  Plantae – Plants Subkingdom  Tracheobionta – Vascular plants Superdivision Spermatophyta – Seed plants Division  Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants Class  Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons Subclass  Rosidae Order  Fabales Family  Fabaceae – Pea family Genus  Samanea Merr. – Raintree Species  S. Saman

Samanea saman - Rain Tree

Samanea saman common name is Rain Tree. It is range extends from Mexico south to Peru and Brazil, but it has been widely introduced to South and Southeast Asia, as well as the Pacific Islands, including Hawaii. Common names include saman, rain tree and monkey-pod. Saman is a wide-canopied tree with a large symmetrical crown. It usually reaches a height of 25 m (82 ft) and a spread of 40 m (130 ft). The leaves fold in rainy weather and in the evening, hence the name "rain tree" and "five o'clock tree" (Pukul Lima) in Malay. The evergreen leaves are alternate, bipinnate, 25–40 cm long, with 2–6 pairs of pinnate, each of which bears 6–16 paired stalks-less leaflets, with a glandular dot between each pair. Flowers are produced near the end of twigs in clusters on a green hairy stalk with many small tubular pink or yellow flowers. The fruits are flat seed pods, black, 20–30 cm long, containing several oblong reddish-brown seeds about one cm long. The seed looks like monkey-pod. The name "rain tree" was coined in tropical India, especially Bengal. Its origin is the moisture that collects on the ground under the tree, largely the honeydew-like discharge of cicadas feeding on the leaves.

Trees are basically evergreen, but are native to areas of Central and South America that have pronounced dry seasons where the trees exhibit semi-deciduous tendencies. But in south Asia its behavior likes a deciduous tree. It is very fast growing large tree. So people like to plant it for fast harvest wood. It is full sun tree and in rainy season it grows very fast. 

One of the most important uses in Latin America is as a shade tree, especially in parks, pastures, and roadsides, because this species' leaflets fold together at night and in wet weather, allowing the rain to fall through, hence the grass can grow right up to the trunk. The wood is soft, lightweight and takes a beautiful finish but is often cross-grained and difficult to work. It is used for furniture, general construction, and interior trim, for boxes and crates, paneling, plywood, and veneer. In Central American oxcart wheels are made from cross sections of trunks.

Beautiful Rain Tree

Rain Tree Leaves

Leaves of Rain Tree

Rain Tree Flower Pink

Rain Tree Flowers Yellow

Rain Tree Green Pod

Rain Tree Pod

Rain Tree Seeds

Rain Tree Bark

Rain Tree Huge Log

Rain Tree Logs

Rain Tree Furniture

Rain Tree Furniture

Rain Tree as Ornamental Tree

Tillandsia usneoides - Spanish Moss

General Information Common Name  Spanish Moss Scientific Name  Tillandsia usneoides Sun Tolerance  Full Sun Height  up to 6 m (up to20 ft) Spread  up to 1 m (up to 3.3 ft)  Growth Rate  Fast Bloom Time  Very rear Color  Green Flower Color  Green Type  Creeper Native  USA

Classification Kingdom  Plantae – Plants Subkingdom  Tracheobionta – Vascular plants Superdivision Spermatophyta – Seed plants Division  Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants Class  Liliopsida – Monocotyledons Subclass  Zingiberidae Order  Bromeliales Family  Bromeliaceae – Bromeliad family Genus  Tillandsia L. – airplant Species  T. usneoides

Tillandsia usneoides - Spanish Moss

Tillandsia usneoides common name is Spanish moss. It is native to USA. It is an ornamental plant that grows upon larger trees. Although its name is Spanish moss but it is not biologically related to either mosses or lichens. Instead, it is an angiosperm in the family Bromeliaceae  that grows hanging from tree branches in full sun or partial shade. It looks like a fall. It is growing wherever the climate is warm enough and has a relatively high average humidity. It has been introduced to similar locations around the world, including Hawaii and Australia.

The plant is long and alternate thin, curved or curly, heavily scaled leaves 2–6 cm (0.79–2.36 in) long and 1 mm (0.039 in) broad, that grow vegetative in chain-like fashion to form hanging structures up to 6 m (20 ft) in length. The plant has no aerial roots and its flowers are tiny and inconspicuous. The flower color is green. It propagates both by seed and vegetative by fragments that blow on the wind and stick to tree limbs. 

It absorbs nutrients and water from the air and rain. So it is also known as Air Plant. It grows so fast and sometimes it kills the trees. It also increases wind resistance, which can prove fatal to the host tree in a hurricane. It was introduced to Hawaii in the 19th century, and became a popular ornamental and lei plant. It is planted commercially because it has been used for various purposes, including building insulation, mulch, packing material, mattress stuffing, and fiber. In the early 1900s it was used commercially in the padding of car seats.  In 1939 over 10,000 tons of processed Spanish moss was produced.  It is still collected today in smaller quantities for use in arts and crafts, or for bedding for flower gardens, and as an ingredient in the traditional wall covering material bousillage. It is also uses to cooling the homes and offices much less expensively than using air conditioners in desert or hot area.

Spanish Moss

Spanish Moss Flower

Flower of Spanish Moss

Spanish Moss in wild

Spanish Moss

Spanish Moss in wild

Spanish Moss in wild

Spanish Moss as ornamental

Spanish Moss in garden

Spanish Moss ornamental

Spanish Moss

Spanish Moss

Spanish Moss

Spanish Moss Air Plants