Trees Planet: Vitis berlandieri

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.