Vitis L.

Scientific Description

Family Vitaceae.

Habit and leaf form. Lianas; deciduous. Climbing; tendril climbers (tendrils leaf-opposed). Stem growth conspicuously sympodial, or not conspicuously sympodial. Mesophytic, or xerophytic. Heterophyllous, or not heterophyllous. Leaves alternate; distichous, or spiral; petiolate; non-sheathing; gland-dotted; simple. Leaf blades dissected, or entire; commonly palmately lobed; palmately veined, or pinnately veined; cross-venulate. Leaves with stipules. Stipules intrapetiolar; caducous. Leaf blade margins crenate, or serrate, or dentate. Leaves without a persistent basal meristem.

Reproductive type, pollination. Fertile flowers hermaphrodite, or functionally male and functionally female, or hermaphrodite, functionally male, and functionally female. Unisexual flowers present, or absent. Plants hermaphrodite, or dioecious, or polygamodioecious. Female flowers with staminodes (stamens reflexed), or without staminodes.

Inflorescence and flower features. Flowers aggregated in ‘inflorescences’; in panicles. The terminal inflorescence unit cymose. Inflorescences leaf-opposed. Flowers bracteolate; small; operculate (calyptrate); regular; 5 merous; cyclic; tetracyclic. Hypogynous disk present; intrastaminal; of separate members (more or less free glands). Perianth with distinct calyx and corolla; 10; 2 -whorled; isomerous. Calyx 5; 1 -whorled; gamosepalous; entire, or lobed; open in bud; regular; persistent. Corolla 5; 1 -whorled; gamopetalous (at tips); calyptrate; valvate; regular; yellow; deciduous (in a coherent ring without expanding). Fertile stamens present, or absent (female flowers). Androecium 3–9. Androecial members free of the perianth (inserted at the base of the disk); all equal; free of one another; 1 -whorled. Androecium exclusively of fertile stamens. Stamens 3–9; reduced in number relative to the adjacent perianth, or isomerous with the perianth; alternisepalous. Anthers dehiscing via longitudinal slits; introrse; tetrasporangiate, or bisporangiate. Fertile gynoecium present, or absent (male flowers). Gynoecium 2 carpelled (nearly always). The pistil 2 celled. Carpels reduced in number relative to the perianth. Gynoecium syncarpous; eu-syncarpous; superior. Ovary plurilocular; 2 locular. Gynoecium stylate. Styles 1; apical. Stigmas 1; dry type; non-papillate; Group II type. Placentation axile. Ovules 2 per locule; ascending; apotropous; collateral; non-arillate; anatropous.

Fruit and seed features. Fruit fleshy; indehiscent; a berry; 1–4 seeded. Seeds obovoid; endospermic. Endosperm ruminate; oily. Cotyledons 2. Embryo achlorophyllous (Vitis vinifera); straight. Seedling. Germination phanerocotylar.

Physiology, biochemistry. Aluminium accumulation not found. Photosynthetic pathway: C₃ and CAM.

Geography, cytology, number of species. Adventive. Australian states and territories: Western Australia.

Economic uses, etc. Important for the wine grape (Vitis vinifera) and other species supplying edible fruit for wine and raisins.