Narrative
Type = American Hybrid. Per Munson (see citation): [About V. vulpina] "Plant: Vines acquire great size, climbing to the tops of the tallest trees, covering them with an open canopy of dark green glossy leaves, with pendant branches gracefully extending there-from, from which the naked, rapidly growing tips of the young branches project. Roots. In one year seedlings, enlarging downward for a foot or more from the collar, forking, non-axial, firm, fully resistant, and penetrates quite successfully very limy as well as many sandy soils. Wood: Young wood cylindrical or oval, angled slightly when quite young, of a pale yellowish-green . . . the nodes in immature wood and at the bases of the young branches, covered with short fawn-colored pubescence, especially in the bronzy form; upon mature wood, outer bark but slightly adhering, separating in broad, nearly regular checked plates which can be easily separated when the wood is but one year old, of a drab or hazel color, with darker and lighter markings, making it in nearly every instance appear mottled, deeply striated; surface smooth, except in some plants a rasp-like feeling when the finger is passed over it; without any or rarely a trace of prunose bloom near the nodes; annual wood rather soft and tough; sectional view open, rays wide apart, pores large; nodes little enlarged, slightly bent, often pubescent; diaphragm thick, 1/8' to 1/5' or more, biconcave; buds medium, sub-conical, sub-acute, terminated with rusty wool, at their opening in the spring of a grayish-purple, or violet, or rusty pink or bronze in the more pubescent form, gradually becoming green with rapid expansion of leaves, tip closed, tendrils usually once forked, rarely twice, intermittent, finely striated, smooth; internodes long to very long, 3' to 7' or more; pith large at lower end, rather dark brown, often insensibly meeting the diaphragm above. Extending tip of growing shoot naked,--not enveloped as in V. vulpina. Leaves: Stipules very small to medium; 1/10' to 1/5' long, lance shaped, fine ciliate edge, soon shedding; petiole long . . . Leaves on ground shoots from old wood generally 3 to 5 lobed with rounded sinuses; on seedlings always entire first and second year. [ ... ] Cluster: Fertile,--medium to large, open, loose, sometimes broadly shouldered, but generally simple; peduncle strong [ ... ] Flowers: Fertile,--stamens very short, reflexed, curved laterally, having little weak pollen; disc prominently 5 lobed, orange-yellow; ovary small, subconical; style short, slender, pointed; stigma very small; staminate,--stamens usually 5, often 4, 1/16' to 1/10' long, ascending; anthers small, pollen abundant. Berries: Small, 3/16' to 6/16' in diameter, globular or slightly oblate, sometimes shining, or mostly dull black, rarely has a little bloom, persistant ripening very late, two months or more later than V. vulpina, September in Texas; skin thick or rigid, coloring matter abundant, violet; little pulp, skin possessed of a biting pungency, till well frosted, then becoming vinous and sugary; refreshing but with characteristic flavor, by which alone it can at once be separated from V. vulpina, with which it was so long confused, as well as from any other species."