Vitis riparia
Vitis palmata
frost grape, river grape, river-bank grape, vigne de rivages
catbird grape, red grape
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.
bark exfoliating in shreds;
nodal diaphragms 2.5–4 mm thick;
branchlets uniformly red, purplish red, or chestnut, subterete, glabrous or very sparsely arachnoid, growing tips not enveloped by unfolding leaves;
tendrils red-pigmented when young, along length of branchlets, persistent, branched, tendrils (or inflorescences) at only 2 consecutive nodes;
nodes not red-banded.
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.
stipules 1.5–3 mm;
petiole somewhat shorter than blade;
blade usually cordate, 8–14 cm, usually deeply 3(–5)-lobed, apex long acuminate, abaxial surface not glaucous, glabrous, visible, veins and vein axils sometimes hirtellous, adaxial surface glabrous.
(4–)9–12 cm.
6–18 cm.
functionally unisexual.
functionally unisexual.
black, heavily glaucous, globose, 8–12 mm diam., skin separating from pulp;
lenticels absent.
bluish black to black, slightly or not glaucous, globose, 8–10 mm diam., skin separating from pulp;
lenticels absent.
= 38.
= 38.
Vitis riparia
Vitis palmata
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.)
Reports of Vitis palmata from Virginia (for example, in A. S. Weakley et al. 2012) appear to be based on misidentified material of V. vulpina with somewhat lobed leaves.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
- Local floras:
BC, 
OR, 
WA - Local Web sites:
Flora NW, 
Go Botany, 
IL Wildflowers, 
KS Wildflowers, 
LA Plants, 
MD Biodiversity, 
MI Flora, 
MN Wildflowers, 
MO Plants, 
PNW Herbaria 
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist (observations)
USDA Plants Database- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
- Plants of the World Online
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
- Google Image Search
