Mustang grape

Description:

Shrubs or vines with watery acid juice, usually climbing by tendrils opposite the leaves. The leaves are simple, dentate, mostly rounded and cordate, usually lobed and rarely palmately compound. The grape is 2 celled with 2-4 seeds (Correll and Johnston, 1979). The seeds are usually pyriform (pear-shaped) with a beaklike base and 2 grooves on the ventral side.

Habitat:

Vitis mustangensis, commonly known as the Mustang Grape, is a species of grape that is native to the southern United States. Its range includes western Louisiana, Texas, and Oklahoma. This woody species produces small clusters of hard green fruit that ripen into soft 3⁄4-inch (1.91 cm) dark purple berries in August-September. The fruit can be potentially irritating to the skin when picked or eaten, and are mildly unpleasant to eat because of its bitterness and high acidity content. They have a thick outer layer of flesh and on average contain four seeds. This variety of grape is recognized by the white velvet-like underside of the leaves, and often covers small trees, shrubs, fences and other objects that it grows near.

Notes:

There are several types of wild grapes that are fairly common in the State of Texas. The three main species of wild grapes that are found locally are the Mustang Grape (Vitis mustangensis), the Sweet Mountain Grape (Vitis monticola), and the Winter Grape (Vitis cinerea var. helleri). Mustang Grapes are fairly abundant and the most easily found. The Mustang Grapes can have a rather tart flavor and have very tough skins. Mustang Grapes make very good jelly that can often found at some specialty grocery stores and at local farmers markets. The other types of grapes are sweeter but much less common and are a lot harder to find. Most of these grapes ripen from late summer to early fall. They are a pretty hardy type of grape and you can also make a fairly decent wine from Mustang Grapes.