Massasoit is one of the collection of

hybrid grape Hybrid grapes are grape varieties that are the product of a crossing of two or more ''Vitis'' species. This is in contrast to crossings between grape varieties of the same species, typically ''Vitis vinifera'', the European grapevine. Hybrid grap ...

varieties known as

Rogers' Hybrids Rogers' Hybrids are a group of 45 grape seedlings, thirteen of them named as cultivars, developed by Edward Staniford Rogers of Salem, Massachusetts, in the mid-19th century. Although mostly gone from cultivation now, their success, along with th ...

, created by E.S. Rogers in the mid-19th century, and is the result of a cross of

Carter Carter(s), or Carter's, Tha Carter, or The Carter(s), may refer to: Geography United States * Carter, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Carter, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Carter, Montana, a census-designated place * Carter ...

, a selection of ''

Vitis labrusca ''Vitis labrusca'', the fox grape, is a species of grapevines belonging to the ''Vitis'' genus in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The vines are native to eastern North America and are the source of many grape cultivars, including Catawba, C ...

'', and

Black Hamburg Black Muscat (or Muscat Hamburg) is a red ''Vitis vinifera'' grape variety derived from the crossing of the Schiava Grossa and Muscat of Alexandria by Seward Snow, Head Gardener to Earl de Grey at Wrest Park, Bedfordshire UK in 1850, according t ...

(there are two varieties known by this name, but in this case it was probably

Schiava Grossa Trollinger, Schiava, or Vernatsch, is a red German/Italian wine grape variety that was likely first originally cultivated in the wine regions of South Tyrol and Trentino, but today is almost exclusively cultivated on steep, sunny locations in ...

), a selection of ''

Vitis vinifera ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, is a species of flowering plant, native to the Mediterranean region, Central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern Iran. There are curr ...

''. It was originally known as Rogers No. 3, but 1869 Rogers named it after a prominent Native American chief from early Massachusetts history, Ousamequin, who used the title

Massasoit Massasoit Sachem () or Ousamequin (c. 15811661)"Native People" (page), "Massasoit (Ousamequin) Sachem" (section),''MayflowerFamilies.com'', web pag was the sachem or leader of the Wampanoag confederacy. ''Massasoit'' means ''Great Sachem''. Mas ...

. Massasoit is female, and thus requires a second grape variety as a pollen source for full fruit set. However unlike many female-flowered grapes, if left unpollinated the variety will often set a number of small, seedless grapes, so consistently that the variety circulated for many years under the name Williams Seedless. Fruit is a dark brown-red, and ripens earlier than any of the other Rogers' Hybrids, though considered by many to be inferior to that of the others. Ulysses Prentiss Hedrick, in ''Grapes of New York'', stated that the fruit is at its best before it fully ripens, acquiring an unpleasant degree of foxiness if allowed to hang on the vine too long. Massasoit is rarely, if ever, cultivated today, but it enjoyed some popularity as an early table grape in the late 19th century.

References

Hybrid grape varieties {{Wine-grape-stub