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Vitis aestivalis Michx.
Summer Grape
Pigeon Grape
Florida native
A frequent vine of hammocks in most of Florida. The range extends throughout the eastern United States, west into Texas to Nebraska, plus California and Ontario.
This often high-climbing vine has branching (forked) tendrils. The alternate leaves are overall cordate, coarsly toothed and up to 15cm (6 in.) long with the petiole typically equaling the blade length. Frequently the leaves are divided into three or five lobes. The undersides of the leaves are glaucous and/or pubescent, with the pubescence often diminishing the whiteness. The small flowers appear in spring and summer in branches clusters 5-16cm (2 to 6-1/4 in.) long. Fruit is a 5 to 12mm (2/10 to 1/2 in.) diameter berry, maturing from green to black and often with a whitish coating.
The glaucous fruit and undersides of leaves plus the forked tendrils help identify this species of grape.
Vitis aestivalis is a member of the Vitaceae - Grape family.
Other species of the Vitis genus in the Wild Florida Photo database:
Vitis cinerea var. floridana - FLORIDA GRAPE
Vitis rotundifolia - MUSCADINE
Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants (Institute for Systemic Botany) profile for this species
iNaturalist profile for this species
USDA Plant Profile for this species
Date record last modified: Jun 15, 2023
