Grape, Wine grape, Purpleleaf Grape, Common Grape
Vitis vinifera
Family: Vitaceae
What it is like
Bloom Color: Yellow. Main Bloom Time: Late spring, Mid spring. Form: Irregular or sprawling, Spreading or horizontal, Variable spread.
Vitis vinifera is a deciduous Climber growing to 15 m (49ft 3in) at a fast rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 6 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from May to July, and the seeds ripen from September to October. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Insects. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers dry or moist soil.
Height (m): 15
Where it is found
Riversides and damp woods. Grows on the banks of the Thames at Kew in Britain.
Central and southern Europe; Northern Africa; Western Asia and the Caucasus.
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
Afghanistan, Africa, Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Asia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burma, Cambodia, Chile, China, Cook Islands, Cyprus, East Africa, East Timor, Egypt, Ethiopia, Europe, Fiji, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guyana, Haiti, Hawaii, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mediterranean, Moldova, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, New Zealand, Niger, North Africa, North America, Pacific, Pakistan, Palestine, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, SE Asia, Spain, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Southern Africa, South America, Spain, Swaziland, Syria, Tajikistan, Tasmania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tokelau, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, USA, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, West Africa, Yugoslavia, Zimbabwe.
How it is used
Food
Rating: 5
Fruit - raw or dried for winter use. The dried fruits are the raisins, sultanas and currants of commerce, different varieties producing the different types of dried fruit. A fully ripened fresh fruit is sweet, juicy and delicious. The fruit juice can be concentrated and used as a sweetener. This fruit is widely used in making wine. Leaves - cooked. Young leaves are wrapped around other foods and then baked, they impart a pleasant flavour. Young tendrils - raw or cooked. The flower clusters are used as a vegetable. An edible oil similar to sunflower oil is obtained from the seed. It needs to be refined before it can be eaten. A polyunsaturated oil, it is suitable for mayonnaise and cooking, especially frying. Sap - raw. Used as a drink, it has a sweet taste. The sap can be harvested in spring and early summer, though it should not be taken in quantity or it will weaken the plant. The roasted seed is a coffee substitute. Cream of tartar, also known as potassium bitartrate, a crystalline salt, is extracted from the residue of pressed grapes, and from the sediment of wine barrels. It is used in making baking powder.
Oil: Oil
Medicine
Rating: 2
Grapes are a nourishing and slightly laxative fruit that can support the body through illness, especially of the gastro-intestinal tract and liver. Because the nutrient content of grapes is close to that of blood plasma, grape fasts are recommended for detoxification. Analgesic. The fresh fruit is antilithic, constructive, cooling, diuretic and strengthening. A period of time on a diet based entirely on the fruit is especially recommended in the treatment of torpid liver or sluggish biliary function. The fruit is also helpful in the treatment of varicose veins, haemorrhoids and capillary fragility. The dried fruit is demulcent, cooling, mildly expectorant, laxative and stomachic. It has a slight effect in easing coughs. The leaves, especially red leaves, are anti-inflammatory and astringent. A decoction is used in the treatment of threatened abortion, internal and external bleeding, cholera, dropsy, diarrhoea and nausea. It is also used as a wash for mouth ulcers and as douche for treating vaginal discharge. Red grape leaves are also helpful in the treatment of varicose veins, haemorrhoids and capillary fragility. The leaves are harvested in early summer and used fresh or dried. The seed is anti-inflammatory and astringent. The sap of young branches is diuretic. It is used as a remedy for skin diseases and is also an excellent lotion for the eyes. The tendrils are astringent and a decoction is used in the treatment of diarrhoea. The plant is used in Bach flower remedies - the keywords for prescribing it are 'Dominating', 'Inflexible' and 'Ambitious'.
Analgesic: Relieves pain.
Antiinflammatory: Reduces inflammation of joints, injuries etc.
Astringent: Produces contraction in living tissue, reducing the flow of secretions and discharges of blood, mucus, diarrhoea etc.
Bach: Plants used in the Bach flower remedies.
Cholera: Used in the treatment of cholera - an acute diarrheal illness caused by infection of the intestine with Vibrio cholerae bacteria.
Demulcent: Soothes, lubricates and softens irritated tissues, especially the mucous membranes.
Diuretic: Acts on the kidneys, promoting the flow of urine.
Hepatic: Acts on the liver (for better or worse!).
Laxative: Stimulates bowel movements in a fairly gentle manner.
Lithontripic: Removes stones from the kidney, bladder etc.
Miscellany: Various medicinal actions that need more clarification.
Skin: Plants used in miscellaneous treatments for the skin.
Stomachic: Aids and improves the action of the stomach.
Other
Rating: 2
A yellow dye is obtained from the fresh or dried leaves. An oil from the seed is used for lighting and as an ingredient in soaps, paints etc. Cream of tartar, extracted from the residue of pressed grapes, is used in making fluxes for soldering. Especially when growing in hotter countries than Britain, the stems of very old vines attain a good size and have been used to supply a very durable timber.
Dye: Plants that provide dyes.
Miscellany: A rag-bag of items that are difficult to categorise.
Oil: Vegetable oils have many uses, as lubricants, lighting, soap and paint making, waterproofing etc. This does not include the edible oils unless they are also mentioned as having other uses.
Food Forest: Plants for Edible Forest Gardens and Food Forests.
Scented Plants: Plants noted for their scent
How it is grown
Landscape Uses:Arbor. Prefers a deep rich moist well-drained moderately fertile loam. Grows best in a calcareous soil, but dislikes excessively chalky soils. Prefers a pH in the range 6.5 to 7 but tolerates a range from 4.3 to 8.6. Succeeds in sun or partial shade though a warm sunny sheltered position is required for the fruit to ripen. Very commonly grown in the temperate zones of the world for its edible fruit, there are many named varieties, some of which have been developed for their use as a dried fruit, others for dessert use and others for wine. Good and regular crops are a bit problematical in Britain, grapes are on the northern most limits of their range in this country and the British summer often does not provide enough heat to properly ripen the fruit. Late frosts can also damage young growth in spring, though dormant shoots are very hardy, tolerating temperatures down to about -20°c. Nonetheless, there are a number of commercial vineyards in Britain (usually producing wine grapes) and, given a suitably sunny and sheltered position, good dessert grapes can also be grown. In general it is best to grow the dessert varieties against the shelter of a south or west facing wall. There are a number of varieties that have been bred to cope with cooler summers. Grapes are very susceptible to attacks by phylloxera, this disease is especially prevalent in some areas of Europe and it almost destroyed the grape industry. However, American species of grapes that are resistant to phylloxera are now used as rootstocks and this allows grapes to be grown in areas where the disease is common. Britain is free of the disease at the present (1989) and grapes are usually grown on their own roots. Plants in this genus are notably susceptible to honey fungus. The flowers are intensely fragrant. Grapes grow well in the company of hyssop, chives, basil and charlock. They grow badly with radishes, both the grapes and the radishes developing an off taste. Plants climb by means of tendrils. Any pruning should be carried out in winter when the plants are dormant otherwise they bleed profusely. The cultivated grape is thought to have been derived from V. vinifera sylvestris. (Gmel.)Hegi. This form has dioecious flowers and produces small black grapes. Special Features:Attractive foliage, Inconspicuous flowers or blooms. For polyculture design as well as the above-ground architecture (form - tree, shrub etc. and size shown above) information on the habit and root pattern is also useful and given here if available. Woody. Growth habit is a single or multiple shooting vine from a crown.
Propagating it: Seed - best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe. Six weeks cold stratification improves the germination rate, and so stored seed is best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is obtained. Germination should take place in the first spring, but sometimes takes another 12 months. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in a cold frame for their first winter. Plant out in early summer. Cuttings of mature wood of the current seasons growth, December/January in a frame. These cuttings can be of wood 15 - 30cm long or they can be of short sections of the stem about 5cm long with just one bud at the top of the section. In this case a thin, narrow strip of the bark about 3cm long is removed from the bottom half of the side of the stem. This will encourage callusing and the formation of roots. Due to the size of these cuttings they need to be kept in a more protected environment than the longer cuttings. Layering.
Best place to grow: Woodland Garden Sunny Edge; Dappled Shade; South Wall. By. West Wall. By.
Habit: Climber
Hardiness: 6-10
Growth: Fast
Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: Semi-shade, no shade
Moisture: Dry, moist
Things to keep in mind
Its other names
Local names
Angur, Diva loza, Grozde yagorida, Tumpeang ba'y chu, Uva, Vid, Vigne, Vino, Weinrebe, aanab, ainab, aitoviiniköynnös, lehti, angoor, angur, blad från vinranka, bortermo szolo levél, cognac oil, common grape vine, dakh, darakh, drakh, draksa, draksh, draksha, draksha kottai, draksha pondu, drakshai, drakya, dry grapes, drak?a (fruit), european grape, feuille de vigne rouge, folha de videira, frunze de vita-de-vie, gostani, gostoni, grape, grape seeds oligomeric proanthocyanidins, grape vine, grapevine, grapevine leaf, kashmish, kishmish, kottai drakshai, lambrusca, lambrusque, lie de vin, list vinica, list vinske trte, lisc winorosli wlasciwej, maneka, maweez munaqqa, maweezak kohi, munaca, munaqqa, munkka, munthringya, m?dvika, parra, raisins, rote weinrebenblätter, rød vinranke, blad, tikruju vynmedžiu lapai, vid, vid, hoja de, vigne, vigne rouge, vigne vinifère, viinapuu lehed, vinblad, vine, vinho, vino, vite, vite, foglia, vitis vinifera, flos, vitis viniferae folium, vínviðarlauf, weinrebe, werqa tad-dielja, wijnstokblad, wine, wine grape, zabeeb-ul-jabal, cervený list vinné révy, ista vinkoka lapas.