This form of Candicans was named and described by Shuttleworth in a manuscript now in the Herbarium Boissier at Geneva, Switzerland. Botanists seem divided as whether to regard it as a separate species or as a botanical variety. Its habitat is central and southern Florida.

Coriacea is more tender than the regular forms of Vitis candicans and this alone would make it worthless to the northern cultivator even were it otherwise valuable.

22. VITIS SIMPSONI Munson.

1. Munson, Soc. Prom. Ag. Sci. Rpt., 1887:59. Simpson’s grape. 2. Ib., Gar. and For., 3:474, 475. 1890. 3. Ib., U. S. D. A. Pom. Bul., 3:12. 1890. 4. Ib., Am. Gard., 12:586, 661. 1891. 5. Ib., Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt., 1893:116. Palmetto-leaved grape. 6. Bailey, Gray’s Syn. Fl., 1:429. 1897. 7. Munson, Tex. Sta. Bul., 56:232, 234, 240, 267. 1900. fig. Simpson’s grape. 8. Viala and Ravaz, Am. Vines, 1903:167.

Vine very vigorous, climbing; shoots cylindrical with much brownish pubescence; diaphragms very thick; tendrils intermittent. Leaves with stipules short and broad; leaf-blade rather thin, large, broadly cordate, usually considerably lobed; petiolar sinus of medium width and depth; margin coarsely toothed; upper surface slightly rugose and of a dark-green; lower surface with rusty white pubescence sometimes becoming almost a blue green; the shape of leaf and amount of pubescence vary widely. Clusters large, loose; peduncle long; pedicel thick. Berries small to medium, more tender in pulp and less astringent than Vitis aestivalis, black with moderate amount of bloom. Leafing, blooming, and ripening fruit late.

Vitis simpsoni was named and briefly described by Munson in 1887. In 1891 he stated that the species is a hybrid of Vitis coriacea (here considered a variety of Vitis candicans) crossed with Vitis cinerea. Bailey states that it is probably a hybrid of Aestivalis crossed with Coriacea. Some forms of Simpsoni are said to be very difficult to distinguish from Vitis labrusca.

Simpsoni prefers warm, sandy soils and is found in central and southern Florida. It roots from cuttings with great difficulty; it is tender and will not withstand cold winters. While it is very resistant to phylloxera and also to mildew and black-rot, its leaves are said to be much attacked by leaf-rollers. The blossoming period is just after Aestivalis. The berries are of good flavor and might be of some value for the country along the Gulf Coast but it is of no value for the North.

23. VITIS LABRUSCA[150] Linn.[151]

1. Linnaeus, Sp. Pl., 1:203. 1753. V. sylvestris Virginiana; V. vinifera sylvestris americana. 2. Marshall, 1785:165. V. vulpina; Fox grape vine. 3. Walter, 1788:242. V. taurina. 4. Michaux, 2:230. 1803. V. taurina. 5. Bartram, Dom. Enc., 5:289. 1804. V. vulpina; Fox grape. 6. Muhlenberg, 1813:27. Fox grape. 7. Pursh, 1:169. 1814. V. taurina. 8. Nuttall, 1:143. 1818. 9. Elliott, 2:689. 1824. V. taurina. 10. Torrey, Fl. of N. & M. Sta., 1826:120. 11. Rafinesque, 1830:10. V. latifolia; V. taurina; V. Labrusca; Fox grape. 12. Ib., 1830:11. V. luteola; Variable grape. 13. Prince, 1830:180. V. Labrusca, var. NIGRA; Black Fox; Purple Fox; V. taurina; V. vulpina. 14. Ib., 1830:181. V. Labrusca, var. ALBA; White Fox. 15. Ib., 1830:182. V. Labrusca, var. ROSEA; Red Fox. 16. Torrey, Fl. of N. Y., 1:146. 1843. Fox grape. 17. Darlington, Fl. Cest., 1853:50. Fox grape of the Northern States, not of Va. 18. Le Conte, Proc. Phil. Acad. Nat. Sci., 1853:270. V. sylvestris; Fox grape; V. occidentalis; V. vulpina; V. latifolia; V. canina; V. luteola; V. rugosa; V. ferruginea; V. labruscoides; V. blanda; V. prolifera; V. obovata. 19. Ib., U. S. Pat. Off. Rpt., 1857:228. Fox grape; V. sylvestris; V. occidentalis; V. vulpina; V. latifolia; V. canina; V. luteola; V. rugosa; V. ferruginea; V. labruscoides; V. prolifica; V. obovata. 20. Buckley, Ib., 1861:481. Frost grape. Fox grape of the Northern States. 21. Stayman, Gar. Mon., 11:37, 38, 39, 40. 1869. Northern Fox Grape. 22. Engelmann, Mo. Ent. Rpt., 1872:61. Fox grape; Northern Fox grape. 23. Ib., Bush. Cat.., 1883:9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 19. Fox grape; Northern Fox grape. 24. Munson, Am. Hort. Soc. Rpt., 1885:136. Fox grape. 25. Ib., Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt., 1885:97, 98, 101. 26. Planchon, De Candolle’s Mon. Phan., 5:322, 324. 1887. Fox grape; Northern Fox grape; V. vinifera sylvestris americana; V. latifolia; V. canina; V. luteola. 27. Munson, Soc. Prom. Ag. Sci. Rpt., 1887:59. Fox grape. 28. Pearson, Gar. and For., 2:584. 1889. 29. Munson, U. S. D. A. Pom. Bul., 3:11. 1890. 30. Ib., Gar. and For., 3:474. 1890. 31. Britton and Brown, 2:408. 1897. Northern Fox grape; Plum grape. 32. Bailey, Gray’s Syn. Fl., 1:429. 1897. Fox grape; Skunk grape; V. vulpina; V. blandi. 33. Munson, Tex. Sta. Bul., 56:232, 240. 1899. Northern Fox grape. 34. Viala and Ravaz, Am. Vines, 1903:42, 45.

Vine moderately vigorous, stocky, climbing; shoots cylindrical, densely pubescent; diaphragms medium to rather thick; tendrils continuous, strong, bifid or trifid. Leaves with long, cordate stipules, leaf-blade large, thick, broadly cordate or roundish; entire to three-lobed, frequently notched; sinuses rounded; petiolar sinus variable in depth and width, V-shaped; margin with rather shallow, acute pointed, scalloped teeth; upper surface more or less rugose, dark green, on young leaves pubescent, becoming glabrous when mature; lower surface covered with dense pubescence, more or less whitish on young leaves, becoming rusty or dun-colored when mature. Clusters small to medium, more or less compound, usually shouldered, compact; pedicels thick; peduncle short to medium. Berries medium to large; skin thick, covered with considerable bloom, strong musky or foxy aroma. Seeds two to four, large, distinctly notched, beak short; chalaza oval in shape, indistinct, showing merely as a depression; raphe, a groove. (See Plate.)