Narrative
Type = American Hybrid. Per Galet (see citation): [About V. candicans Engelmann] "Growing tip: white with a rose margin of varying intensity, flat; well-developed, red stipules. Young leaves: downy, yellowish upper surface, felty underneath, convex leaf blade. Leaf: small to medium, polymorphous (having several forms): cuneiform or cuneotruncate, 136 to 146 and 24 to 46, entire with convex edges; or orbicular due to an increase in the angles of the veins up to 69, having varying numbers of lateral sinuses of various depths resulting in leaves with three to five or more lobes. Very thick, soft, shiny, waxy, bullate, dark green, convex shape seeming to protect the lower surface from the sun; petioles, veins, and lower surface felty white; teeth nearly flat; petiolar sinus wide, brace-shaped on entire leaves and lyre-shaped on lobed leaves. Shoot: ribbed, reddish, felty at tip. Flower cluster: small, red, downy; male or female. Cluster: very small, loose; berries round, black, medium, pulpy, slip-skin flesh, thick skin; bitter, burning flavor next to skin. Seeds: large, reddish, 7 to 8 mm by 5 mm, oval; chalaza position .52, protuberant. Growth habit: very vigorous, climbing, suffocating the tree that supports it . . . this is a hot-weather species that appears well adapted to drought due to its protective indument and the waxy substance that covers its organs. The roots are fairly resistant to phylloxera and the leaves do not carry the galls. Candicans are resistant to drought, downy mildew, and powdery mildew, but do not grow well in the presence of active lime. As might be expected given the geographical distribution, it shows a good resistance to Pierce's disease."