muscadine
Vitis rotundifolia
Muscadines possess an extra pair of chromosomes compared to other grape species, granting them near-total natural immunity to devastating grape pests and diseases.
- Scientific name
- Vitis rotundifolia
- Taxonomy
- Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Vitales › Vitaceae › Vitis
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- forest
- Habitat
- Deciduous forests, pine flatwoods, riverbanks, and maritime forest edges.
- Diet
- Autotrophic (produces energy via photosynthesis, absorbing water and soil nutrients).
- Range
- Southeastern United States, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Texas
- Size
- Vines can climb up to 30 meters (100 feet) in length; berries are 2 to 4 centimeters in diameter.
- Lifespan
- 50 to 100+ years (The 'Mother Vine' in North Carolina is over 400 years old)
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Habitat fragmentation, land clearing, and competition from aggressive invasive plant species like kudzu.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless. Safe to approach and touch. The wild grapes are edible and delicious when ripe (dark purple or bronze in late summer), but ensure positive identification before consuming. Avoid pulling or climbing on the vines, as they support local canopy structures.
Vitis rotundifolia , or muscadine , is a grapevine species native to the southeastern and south-central United States from Florida to Delaware, west to eastern Texas and Oklahoma. It has been extensively cultivated since the 16th century. The plants are well adapted to their native warm and humid climate; they need fewer chilling hours than better known varieties and they thrive on summer heat.
Photo: Douglas Goldman, CC-BY-SA, via iNaturalist
Plain-text version: /species/5add4051-a771-4608-b882-52798e3eaded.md