Leaf:  Alternate, simple; blades round, orbicular, cordate, seldom deeply lobed, 2 to 9 inches (5 to 23 cm) long, longer than broad with acuminate tip and deep basal sinus; palmately veined; margin coarsely serrate with broad, irregular teeth; upper surface green, shiny, hairless; lower surface paler green, not woolly, though sometimes having tufts of hair in the angles of the veins; petioles slender, smooth, and rarely red.

Flower:  Arranged in open, compound panicles to 15 cm long; appearing in May to June; each flower with 5 greenish-yellow petals, 5 tiny or absent sepals, and 5 stamens; some flowers with both male and female parts, others with only stamens or pistils, sometimes with the 2 sexes on separate plants.  

Fruit:  Round or flattened, tart berry, becoming sweet after frost; up to 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) in diameter; loosely clustered; black, shiny; ripening in September to October; containing 1 to 2 seeds. 

Young stem:  Climbing, round in cross-section, smooth; with green branchlets turning gray or brown.

Twig:  Round, brown, hairless; with forked tendrils or no tendrils, tendrils usually reddish and absent opposite every 3rd leaf.

Bark:  Young bark brown, hairless; older bark shreddy. 

Form:  High-climbing woody vine with a thick trunk.
 

Discussion

The genus name Vitis is the Latin word for “vine”.  The species name vulpina is Latin for “foxlike, of or belonging to a fox”.  Folklore claims that foxes were attracted to this species of grape, hence the scientific name Vitis vulpina and the common names fox grape and vixen grape.  The alternate common names, frost grape and winter grape, most likely refer to this grape’s improved taste after several frosts.  Literature says that the frost grape is too acid and tart until the weather is cold enough for frosts and the season has progressed enough for the leaves to fall off the vines.

Frost grape is native to North America, along with many other species of grapes.  In about 1000 A.D. Leif Ericsson the Lucky arrived on the coast of North America after crossing the North Atlantic and christened his discovery Vinland, in honor of all the grapevines he found.  Though the fruits of frost grape are small and acidic, the vine is resistant to the native pests and diseases, so it flourishes while imported species fail.  Breeders crossed native grapes with imported grapes to develop many varieties which are still grown today. 

Frost grape is ecologically important in that it provides late fall and early winter food for many species of birds and mammals.  Fruits cling to the vines later than most other fruits, so they are a welcome supplement for the wildlife diet. Wild turkeys eat both the fruits and the leaves. The vines aren’t much good for cover. 

The grapes can be used for jellies, preserves, and pies, though they are tiny and very tart until late in the season.  These grapes probably have been used more widely to make wine, which is said to have a strongly characteristic herbaceous, grapey, tart taste with a dark color and soft tannins.

Vitis vulpina is most likely the grape used by Thomas Jefferson’s winemaker to produce “colonial style” wine for the household.  George Washington also took notice of this particular species.  George Washington wrote a letter dated July 9, 1783, to the French Minister of State, in which he stated that he hadn’t considered importing exotics for wine-making since grape vines were common here.  He expected to have more success than those who did import grapes from abroad.  “... accordingly, a year or two before hostilities commenced I selected about two thousand cuttings of a kind which does not ripen with us (in Virginia) ‘till repeated frosts in the Autumn meliorate the Grape and deprive the vines of their leaves.  It is then, and not before, the grape (which is never very palatable) can be eaten.”  Obviously, Washington was occupied by other events in the intervening eight years, and he didn’t get around to making wine from his frost grapes.

In rural settings, farmers once put grape leaves in their hats to help alleviate the intense heat of summer and children entertained themselves by swinging on grapevines.

Distinguishing Characteristics

Frost grape has the typical grapevine form, but the leaves are unlobed and lack cobwebby hairs.

Distribution

Frost grape is found in much of the eastern half of the United States.  It grows in the moist or dry soils of  woods, thickets, flood plains, streamsides, fencerows, and ravines. 

Images

Click each small picture to see a larger image. 

October, 2003  KC	October, 2003  KC
October, 2003  KC	October, 2003  KC

Location

N 39.26925°     W  -89.89110°                     
Near the north end of the west side of the fitness trail, several paces downhill from the beginning of the trail, on the west side of the path, Loveless Park, South Locust Street, Carlinville, Macoupin County, IL.  

Copyright

Photos © 2003 Kimberlee Cameron and Ben Mowen, Carlinville High School, linke@carlinvilleschools.net       
          


References

USDA National Resources Conservation Service
http://plants.usda.gov/cgi_bin/plant_profile.cgi?symbol=VIVU&mde=Print&photo

Oklahoma Biological Survey
http://www.biosurvey.ou.edu/shrub/vivu.htm

Illinois Plant Information Network
http://www.fs.fed.us/ne/delaware/ilpin/3177.co

Ambers, Clifford.  Sweet Briar College (VA)
http://www.faculty.sbc.edu/cambers/SBCG/images/update16/vulpina.html

Forest Preserve District of Cook County (Illinois)
http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/natbltn/200-299/nb204.htm

USGS & Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/1999/soutflor/species/9/vitivulp.htm

Petrides, George A.  1972.  A field guide to trees and shrubs.  2nd ed.  Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 428 pp.

Evans, Margaret Meissner.  1990.  Green heritage.  Abbott & Foran, Inc., Decatur (IL). 200 pp.

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