Flora of North America species comparison

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Vitis girdiana

Vitis riparia

desert wild grape, Southern California grape, Southern California or desert wild grape, Southern California wild grape

frost grape, river grape, river-bank grape, vigne de rivages
Habit Plants high climbing, sparsely branched. Plants usually moderate to high climbing, sometimes sprawling, sparsely branched.
Branches

bark exfoliating in plates;

nodal diaphragms 1.5–3 mm thick;

branchlets terete to slightly angled, tomentose, tomentum usually persistent, growing tips not enveloped by unfolding leaves;

tendrils along length of branchlets, persistent, branched, tendrils (or inflorescences) at only 2 consecutive nodes;

nodes not red-banded.

bark exfoliating in shreds;

nodal diaphragms to 0.5 mm thick;

branchlets terete, glabrous or sparsely hirtellous, growing tips enveloped by unfolding leaves, glabrous or sparsely hairy;

tendrils along length of branchlets, persistent, branched, tendrils (or inflorescences) at only 2 consecutive nodes;

nodes not red-banded.
Leaves

stipules usually 3.5+ mm;

petiole 1/2 to ± equaling blade;

blade cordate, 5–10 cm, usually unlobed, sometimes 3-shouldered, rarely shallowly 3-lobed, apex acute to short acuminate, abaxial surface not glaucous, moderately to densely tomentose, visible through hairs, adaxial surface sparsely to moderately tomentose, glabrescent.

stipules 3–5 mm;

petiole 1/2 to ± equaling blade;

blade cordate, 6–20 cm, 3-shouldered to shallowly 3-lobed, apex short acuminate, abaxial surface not glaucous, glabrate, visible through hairs, veins and vein axils hirtellous, adaxial surface glabrous.
Inflorescences

8–18 cm.

(4–)9–12 cm.
Flowers

functionally unisexual.

functionally unisexual.
Berries

dark purple to black, slightly or not glaucous, globose, 4–6 mm diam., skin separating from pulp;

lenticels absent.

black, heavily glaucous, globose, 8–12 mm diam., skin separating from pulp;

lenticels absent.
2n

= 38.

= 38.

Vitis girdiana

Vitis riparia
Phenology Flowering Apr–Jun; fruiting Jul–Sep. Flowering Apr–Jun; fruiting Aug–Sep.
Habitat Stream banks, canyon bottoms. Stream and riverbanks, pond margins, alluvial woodlands, ravines, thickets, roadsides, fencerows.
Elevation 10–2000 m. (0–6600 ft.) 0–2200 m. (0–7200 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; Mexico (Baja California)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; CO; CT; DC; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NM; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; RI; SD; TN; TX; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; MB; NB; NS; ON; QC; SK
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Vitis girdiana is known from Inyo, Kern, and Santa Barbara counties and southward. It is morphologically very similar to and intergrades and hybridizes with V. californica in central California. Hybridization with V. vinifera is also probable, making identifications of some specimens quite difficult. Vitis girdiana intergrades also with V. arizonica in eastern Inyo and San Bernardino counties near the California-Nevada border. The V. californica-girdiana-arizonica species complex is in need of in-depth field and experimental studies.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Vitis riparia is native throughout much of its range. It has become naturalized in a few locations in Saskatchewan, Oregon, and Washington. Plants on dunes around the Great Lakes with hairier petioles and leaf blades sometimes have been recognized as var. syrticola; variation in hairiness is essentially continuous, however, and the form is not worthy of taxonomic recognition (P. M. Catling and G. Mitrow 2005).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 12, p. 12. FNA vol. 12, p. 11.
Parent taxa Vitaceae > Vitis > subg. Vitis Vitaceae > Vitis > subg. Vitis
Sibling taxa
V. acerifolia, V. aestivalis, V. arizonica, V. californica, V. cinerea, V. labrusca, V. monticola, V. mustangensis, V. palmata, V. riparia, V. rotundifolia, V. rupestris, V. shuttleworthii, V. vinifera, V. vulpina, V. ×champinii, V. ×doaniana, V. ×novae-angliae
V. acerifolia, V. aestivalis, V. arizonica, V. californica, V. cinerea, V. girdiana, V. labrusca, V. monticola, V. mustangensis, V. palmata, V. rotundifolia, V. rupestris, V. shuttleworthii, V. vinifera, V. vulpina, V. ×champinii, V. ×doaniana, V. ×novae-angliae
Synonyms V. cordifolia var. riparia, V. riparia var. syrticola, V. vulpina subsp. riparia, V. vulpina var. syrticola
Name authority Munson: Proc. Annual Meetings Soc. Promot. Agric. Sci. 8: 59. (1887) Michaux: Fl. Bor.-Amer. 2: 231. (1803)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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