Vine moderately vigorous, climbing; shoots more or less angled and pubescent; pubescence remaining only in patches on mature wood; canes mostly with short internodes; diaphragms thick; tendrils intermittent, long, strong, bifid or trifid. Leaves with small stipules; leaf-blade rather large, broadly cordate, notched or shortly three-lobed; petiolar sinus rather open, V- or U-shaped, margin with broad but rather shallow teeth, rather dark, glossy green above, grayish pubescence below when young; becoming glabrous and even glossy except on ribs and veins, when mature. Clusters large, compact, compound, with long peduncle. Berries small, black, with thin bloom, juicy, rather tart but pleasant tasting when thoroughly ripe. Seeds few, medium to small, short, plump, oval or roundish with short beak; chalaza oval or roundish, distinct; raphe narrow, slightly distinct to indistinct. Leafing, flowering and ripening fruit very late.
This species was described under the name Vitis berlandieri by Planchon in 1880. The description was made from herbarium specimens collected by the Swiss botanist, Berlandier,[142] in Texas in 1834, and also from living plants which had been shipped into France. Planchon states that this is the Monticola of Engelmann, but not the Monticola of Buckley. Buckley’s description is admittedly unsatisfactory but it does not seem that Planchon is justified in saying that Engelmann was mistaken when the latter probably had better opportunities for determining Buckley’s meaning than Planchon.
Berlandieri is a native of the limestone hills of southwest Texas and adjacent Mexico. According to Munson, it grows “in the same region with V. monticola but is less restricted locally, growing from the tops of the hills all along down and along the creek bottoms of those regions.” Its great virtue is that it withstands a soil largely composed of lime. It is superior to all other American species in this respect. This and its moderate degree of vigor (not quite so vigorous as Cinerea, according to Munson) has recommended it to the French growers as a stock for their calcareous soils. The roots are strong, thick and very resistant to phylloxera.
It is propagated by cuttings with comparative ease, but its varieties are variable in this respect, some not rooting at all easily. While the fruit of this species shows a large cluster, the berries are small and sour, and Berlandieri is not regarded as having any promise for culture in America.
13. VITIS CINEREA Engelm.[143]
1. Engelmann, Gray’s Man., Edition 5. 1867:679. V. aestivalis, var. CINEREA. 2. (?) Ib., Am. Nat., 2:321. 1868. V. aestivalis, var. CANESCENS. 3. Ib., Mo. Ent. Rpt., 1872:61. V. aestivalis, var. CINEREA. 4. Ib., Bush. Cat., 1883:10, 11, 12, 14, 16. Downy grape of Mississippi Valley. 5. Munson, Am. Hort. Soc. Rpt., 1885:133. 6. Ib., Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt., 1885:97, 98. Ashy-leaved grape; Sweet Winter grape. 7. Ib., Soc. Prom. Ag. Sci. Rpt., 1887:59. Ashy grape; Sweet Winter grape. 8. Planchon, De Candolle’s Mon. Phan., 5:323, 343. 1887. 9. Munson, U. S. D. A. Pom. Bul., 3:14. 1890. 10. Ib., Gar. and For., 3:474, 475. 1890. 11. Britton and Brown, 2:409. 1897. V. aestivalis, var. canescens; V. aestivalis, var. cinerea; Downy grape. 12. Bailey, Gray’s Syn. Fl., 1:425. 1897. Sweet Winter grape. 13. Beach, N. Y. Sta. An. Rpt., 17:536, 557. 1898. 14. Munson Tex. Sta. Bul., 56:218, 231, 240. 1900. Sweet Winter grape; Ashy grape. 15. Viala and Ravaz, Am. Vines, 1903:42, 80.
Vine vigorous, climbing; shoots more or less angled, covered with grayish pubescence which persists into winter; diaphragms thick to very thick; internodes medium to long; tendrils intermittent, long and strong, bifid. Leaves large, cordate, seldom lobed but frequently notched; frequently resembling a linden leaf; petiolar sinus medium in depth and width, rounded; margin shallowly but sharply toothed; upper surface cobwebby when young, becoming glabrous and dull when mature; lower surface and petiole covered with grayish cobwebby pubescence. Cluster large, rather loose; peduncle long; pedicel slender. Berries small, black, with little if any bloom. Seeds small, plump, short beak; chalaza round or oval, distinct; raphe ridge-like, distinct to slightly distinct. Ripening very late, becoming sweet after frost.
Cinerea is very closely allied to Aestivalis and was for a long time considered a part of that species. In 1867 Engelmann described it under the name Vitis aestivalis, var. cinerea, but in 1883 he made it a species and it has been generally regarded by botanists that the points of difference between the two forms are such that the Cinerea deserves specific recognition.
Its habitat is New York, west to Nebraska and Kansas with about 40 degrees as a northern limit, southward to the Gulf. Cinerea grows along streams mostly in limy soils, and is seldom found in very dry land. It covers about the same range as Cordifolia excepting that it grows nearer the Gulf and extends across the Rio Grande into Mexico.
The species is very late in blooming, later even than Cordifolia. It can be propagated from cuttings only with difficulty. It is probably of no importance horticulturally unless it be for wet lands.