''Vitis rotundifolia'', or muscadine, is a
grapevine species native to the
southeastern
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...
and
south-central United States
The South Central United States or South Central states is a region in the south central portion of the Southern United States. It evolved out of the Old Southwest, which originally was the western portion of the South. The states of Arkansas, ...
.
The growth range extends from
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
to
New Jersey coast
The Jersey Shore (known by locals simply as the Shore) is the coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Geographically, the term encompasses about of oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy in the north to Cape May Po ...
, and west to eastern
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
and
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
. It has been extensively cultivated since the 16th century.
The plants are well-adapted to their native warm and humid climate; they need fewer
chilling hours than better known varieties, and thrive in summer heat.
Muscadine berries may be bronze or dark purple or black when
ripe. Wild varieties may stay green through maturity. Muscadines are typically used in making
artisan
An artisan (from french: artisan, it, artigiano) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art ...
wine
Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...
s, juice, and jelly. They are rich sources of
polyphenol
Polyphenols () are a large family of naturally occurring organic compounds characterized by multiples of phenol units. They are abundant in plants and structurally diverse. Polyphenols include flavonoids, tannic acid, and ellagitannin, some of ...
s.
In a natural setting, muscadine provides
wildlife habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
as shelter, browse, and food for many birds and animals.
[ It is also a ]larva
A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle.
The ...
l host for the Nessus Sphinx Moth (''Amphion floridensis
''Amphion floridensis'', the Nessus sphinx, is a day-flying moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was named by Benjamin Preston Clark in 1920. It is the only member of the genus ''Amphion'' erected by Jacob Hübner in 1819. It lives through ...
'') and the Mournful Sphinx Moth ('' Enyo lugubris'').
Taxonomy and pathology
Although in the same genus ''Vitis
''Vitis'' (grapevine) is a genus of 79 accepted species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus is made up of species predominantly from the Northern Hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, b ...
'' with the other grapevine species, the muscadine species belongs to a separate subgenus, ''Muscadinia'' (all other grapevine species belong to subgenus '' Euvitis'').
Usually the species is divided into three varieties, ''Vitis rotundifolia'' Michx. var. ''rotundifolia'' (southeast USA), ''Vitis rotundifolia'' Michx. var. ''munsoniana'' (Florida), and ''Vitis rotundifolia'' Michx. var. ''popenoei'' (Central America). Some taxonomists have suggested giving the muscadines standing as a genus of its own. It has then also suggested upgrading the varieties to species rank and so splitting two additional species off from ''Vitis rotundifolia'', ''Vitis munsoniana
''Vitis'' (grapevine) is a genus of 79 accepted species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus is made up of species predominantly from the Northern Hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, b ...
'' and ''Vitis popenoei
''Vitis popenoei'', commonly called the totoloche, or totoloche grape, is a New World species of liana in the grape family native to Belize, Mexico (Chiapas, Hidalgo, Oaxaca, Puebla, Tabasco, Veracruz, and eastern Querétaro), and north-central ...
''. All have 40 chromosomes, rather than 38, are generally not cross-compatible with ''Euvitis'' subgenus, and most hybrids between the subgenera are sterile. A few are moderately fertile, and have been used in breeding. A commercially available ''Euvitis'' × ''Muscadinia'' hybrid is the ''Southern Home'' cultivar.[
Although muscadines are hearty grapes with tough skin that protects them from many plant diseases, these grapes nonetheless appear to be susceptible to parasitic ]nematode
The nematodes ( or grc-gre, Νηματώδη; la, Nematoda) or roundworms constitute the phylum Nematoda (also called Nemathelminthes), with plant-Parasitism, parasitic nematodes also known as eelworms. They are a diverse animal phylum inhab ...
s.
Cultivars
There are about 152 muscadine cultivar
A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...
s grown in the Southern states.[ These include bronze, black and red varieties and consist of common grapes and patented grapes.][
Unlike most cultivated grapevines, many muscadine cultivars are ]pistillate
Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ''pistils'' ...
, requiring a pollenizer to set fruit. A few, such as 'Carlos' and 'Noble', are perfect-flowered, produce fruit with their own pollen, and may also pollinate pistillate cultivars.
Muscadine grape cultivars may have low or inconsistent yields, small berries, flavor and thick skin unsuitable to consumer acceptance, and disease susceptibility.[ Cultivars tend to be developed either for a limited fresh market or for winemaking.][ For consumer acceptance, fresh market grapes need to be large, sweet, and with relatively thin skin, whereas those for wine, juice or jelly need high yields of high-sugar, color-stable berries.][
Fresh-market cultivars include Black Beauty, Carlos, Cowart, Flowers, Fry, Granny Val, Ison, James, Jumbo, Magnolia, Memory (first found on T.S. Memory's farm in 1868 in Whiteville, NC), Mish, Nesbitt, Noble, ]Scuppernong
The scuppernong is a large variety of muscadine (''Vitis rotundifolia''), a species of grape native to the Southern United States. It is usually a greenish or bronze color and is similar in appearance and texture to a white grape, but rounder and ...
, Summit, Supreme, and Thomas.[ Produced by the University of Florida, the cultivar, 'Southern Home', contains both subgenera ''Muscadinia'' and ''Euvitis'' (more precisely, ''V. rotundifolia'' × ''V. vinifera'') in its background.]
Crops can be started in 3–5 years. Commercial yields of 20–45 tonne
The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United State ...
s per hectare
The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is a ...
(8–18 tons per acre) are possible. Muscadines grow best in fertile sandy loam and alluvial soils. They grow wild in well-drained bottom lands that are not subject to extended drought or waterlogging. They are also resistant to pests and diseases, including Pierce's disease
''Xylella fastidiosa'' is an aerobic, Gram-negative bacterium of the genus ''Xylella''. It is a plant pathogen, that grows in the water transport tissues of plants ( xylem vessels) and is transmitted exclusively by xylem sap-feeding insects such ...
, which can destroy other grape species. Muscadine is one of the grape species most resistant to ''Phylloxera
Grape phylloxera is an insect pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America. Grape phylloxera (''Daktulosphaira vitifoliae'' (Fitch 1855) belong to the family Phylloxeridae, within the order Hemiptera, bugs ...
'', an insect that can kill roots of grapevines.[
]
Appellations
Appellation
An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical boun ...
s producing Muscadine wines:
* America (Country Appellation)
* Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
(State Appellation)
* Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
(State Appellation)
* Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
(State Appellation)
* Georgia (State Appellation)
* Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
(State Appellation)
* Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
(State Appellation)
* North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
(State Appellation)
* South Carolina
)''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
(State Appellation)
* Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
(State Appellation)
* Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
(State Appellation)
Nutrients
100 grams of muscadine grapes contain the following nutrients according to the USDA:
* Energy: 57 kilocalories
* Fats: 0.47 g
* Carbohydrates: 13.93 g
* Dietary Fiber: 3.9 g
* Protein: 0.81 g
* Calcium: 37 mg
* Phosphorus: 24 mg
* Potassium: 203 mg
* Sodium: 1 mg
* Vitamin C (total ascorbic acid): 6.5 mg
* Riboflavin: 1.5 mg
Consumer research
Consumer research
Marketing research is the systematic gathering, recording, and analysis of qualitative and quantitative data about issues relating to marketing products and services. The goal is to identify and assess how changing elements of the marketing mix i ...
indicates that the thick skins and variable in-season quality of fresh muscadine grapes are significant deterrents to retail acceptance.
Resveratrol and other polyphenols
One report indicated that muscadine grapes contained high concentrations of resveratrol
Resveratrol (3,5,4′-trihydroxy-''trans''-stilbene) is a stilbenoid, a type of natural phenol, and a phytoalexin produced by several plants in response to injury or when the plant is under attack by pathogens, such as bacteria or fungi. Sources ...
, but subsequent studies have found no or little resveratrol in muscadine grapes.
Other muscadine polyphenol
Polyphenols () are a large family of naturally occurring organic compounds characterized by multiples of phenol units. They are abundant in plants and structurally diverse. Polyphenols include flavonoids, tannic acid, and ellagitannin, some of ...
s include anthocyanin
Anthocyanins (), also called anthocyans, are water-soluble vacuolar pigments that, depending on their pH, may appear red, purple, blue, or black. In 1835, the German pharmacist Ludwig Clamor Marquart gave the name Anthokyan to a chemical compo ...
s, tannins
Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids.
The term ''tannin'' (from Anglo-Norman ''tanner'', f ...
, and various flavonoid
Flavonoids (or bioflavonoids; from the Latin word ''flavus'', meaning yellow, their color in nature) are a class of polyphenolic secondary metabolites found in plants, and thus commonly consumed in the diets of humans.
Chemically, flavonoids ...
s.
The rank order of total phenolic content among muscadine components was found to be seeds higher than skins higher than leaves higher than pulp.
References
External links
The Muscadine Experience: Adding Value to Enhance Profits
2004 – 80 page technical resource for growers and processors, University of Arkansas
{{Authority control
rotundifolia
Fruits originating in North America
Flora of the North-Central United States
Flora of the Northeastern United States
Flora of the Southeastern United States
Flora of the South-Central United States
Flora of the United States
Flora of the Appalachian Mountains
Red wine grape varieties
Table grape varieties
Crops originating from the United States
Plants described in 1803
American wine
Cuisine of the Southern United States
Plants used in Native American cuisine