The genus Vitis was formed and named by Tournefort,[113] a French botanist, more than two hundred years ago. In his work, Institutiones Rei Herbariae, published in Paris in 1700, he gives the following description of this genus:
“The Vitis is a genus of plant with a (A) flower shaped like a rose, with many petals placed uniformly in a circle, out of the middle of which arises the pistil (B), with stamens pressed together (C), the flower (D,E,F) folds upward; the pistil develops into an edible berry (E), fleshy, full of juice, and usually with four seeds (H,I), the seeds are pear-shaped (K).”
The capital letters in the parentheses refer to illustrations. These indicate that Tournefort had a very clear conception of the flowering parts of a grape. He gives twenty-one species under this genus of which nine are American, one, however, being our Virginia creeper. Tournefort’s work is all very indefinite; others of the species than those credited to America may be American, and it is quite possible that of the nine some would not be classed among the grapes to-day. Each species is credited to some previous botanist and it is evident that Tournefort was a compiler rather than an original worker with grapes.
The next botanist who contributed to our knowledge of this genus was Linnaeus, the great Swedish systematist, who, in his Genera Plantarum, 1754, gives the following description of the flower (Like Tournefort’s, Linnaeus’ book is written in Latin and the extracts here given are free translations):
“Calyx. Five-toothed, small.
“Corolla. Petals five, rudimentary, small, caducous.
“Stamens. Filaments five, subulate, erect, spreading, caducous, anthers simple.
“Pistil. Ovary egg-shaped, style none, stigma obtuse headed.
“Pericarp. Berry nearly round, large, one cell.
“Seeds. Five, plump, terminate cordate, base contracted, partially divided into two cells.”