''Vitis balansana'' is a species of

climbing vine A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselv ...

in the grape family native to temperate and tropical Asia. Its native range encompasses

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

and three southeastern provinces in China (

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

, Guangxi and the island of

Hainan Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...

) The habitat of ''V. balansana'' varies; it has adapted to living under

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

cover, and in sun-soaked shrubland valleys, at between 200 and 800 meters.

Varieties

''V. b.'' var. ''balansana'', the type for this species, is the only variety known from Guangdong and Hainan provinces or from Vietnam, the other two are both native to Guangxi, and may not be known from elsewhere. Each variety is known by its own distinct name in

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

: *''V. b.'' var. ''balansana'' is known as ''xiao guo pu tao'', or fruitlet grape;Page
''Vitis balansana'' var. ''balansana'' at eFloras
read through Skweezer translate (Chinese to English) *''V. b.'' var. ''tomentosa'' is known by the same name, but with an additional prefix, i.e. ''rong mao xiao guo pu tao'', or downy fruitlet grape;Page
''Vitis balansana'' var. ''tomentosa'' at eFloras
read through Skweezer translate (Chinese to English) *''V. b.'' var. ''ficifolioides'' is known as ''long zhou pu tao'', or Longzhou ragon stategrape, from the County of Longzhou in Guangxi, on the Sino-Vietnam border.Page
''Vitis balansana'' var. ''ficifolioides'' at eFloras
read through Skweezer translate (Chinese to English)

References

balansana Plants described in 1887 Flora of China Flora of Vietnam {{Vitaceae-stub