''Vitis girdiana'' is as species of wild

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus '' Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years a ...

known as the desert wild grape, coyote grape, or valley grape. It is native to southern

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and to

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

.''Vitis girdiana''.
The Jepson Manual. ''Vitis girdiana'' is a woody

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 themsel ...

with a coating of woolly hairs, especially on new growth. The woolly leaves are heart-shaped to kidney-shaped with toothed edges and sometimes shallow lobes. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

is a panicle of unisexual flowers. The fruit is a spherical black

usually not more than 8 millimeters wide. It grows in canyon and streambank habitat in hills and mountains of the region.

Uses

Various Native American groups used the fruit. The Kumeyaay ate the fruit fresh or dried into raisins and cooked, they also rubbed the sap on falling or thin hair to help its health and make it grow. The

Luiseño The Luiseño or Payómkawichum are an indigenous people of California who, at the time of the first contacts with the Spanish in the 16th century, inhabited the coastal area of southern California, ranging from the present-day southern part of ...

called it ''Makwit'' and cooked the fruit for food. The Cahuilla used it fresh, cooked, or dried into

raisin A raisin is a dried grape. Raisins are produced in many regions of the world and may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking, and brewing. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia, the word ''raisin'' is reserved for the ...

s, and made it into

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 ...

Gallery

File:Vitisgirdiana2.JPG File:Vitis girdiana new leaf.jpg

References

External links

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Flora of North America: ''Vitis girdiana''
girdiana Flora of California Flora of Baja California Flora of the California desert regions Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the Mojave Desert Natural history of the Peninsular Ranges Natural history of the Transverse Ranges Fruits originating in North America Plants described in 1887 Bird food plants Garden plants of North America Drought-tolerant plants Vines {{Vitaceae-stub