Plant Name
Scientific Name: Vitis arizonica
Synonym: Vitis treleasei
Common Names: Canyon Grape, Arizona Grape
Plant Characteristics
Duration: Perennial, Deciduous
Growth Habit: Vine
Arizona Native Status: Native
Habitat: Desert, Upland, Mountain, Riparian. These vines grow in canyons or in riparian areas.
Flower Color: Greenish
Flowering Season: Spring, Summer
Height: Climbing up to 16 feet (4.9 m) tall
Description: The flowers are tiny, numerous, and in drooping clusters. The flowers are followed by clusters of small, round, green ripening to dark purple-blue grapes with a powdery-white bloom. The fruit is very popular with birds and can disappear quickly when ripe. The leaves have coarsely toothed margins and are dark green and heart-shaped. The vines are rambling and woody.
Special Characteristics
Edible – Although small, tart, and seedy, the ripe grapes are edible and quite flavorful. Like those of cultivated grapes, the young leaves are also edible and can be used as a wrap for baked food.
Classification
Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Rosidae
Order: Rhamnales
Family: Vitaceae – Grape family
Genus: Vitis L. – grape
Species: Vitis arizonica Engelm. – canyon grape
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