Narrative
Type = Rootstock. Per Galet (see citation): "ORIGIN: This is a cross [...] was made by Ressuguier and sold to Teleki. Teleki made the selection but the wood of five neighboring vines was mixed in with the original 8 B; this explains the existance of "the 8 B's" with female flowers in Vaucluse, Germany and Italy. DESCRIPTION: Growing tip: downy, white with rose margin. Young leaves: cobwebby, bronze. Leaf: very large, 20 cm (squared), cuneiform, 135-3-35, entire 00, soft, edges turned down, bullate, crimped around petiolar junction, pubescent below; petiolar sinus V-shaped; teeth convex, wide, obvious mucrones; petioles pubescent. Flowers: male, always sterile. Shoot: ribbed, pubescent, soft, nodes purple except at tip. Cane: reddish-brown to chocolate with darker nodes; velvety pubescence; ong internodes; inconspicuous nodes, fairly large buds. APTITUDES: 8 B is not an important variety in France. There are very few mother vines or vineyards planted on it since 5 BB is generally considered more satisfactory. While it may be a little more resistant to drought than 5 BB, it is still less so than the Berlandieri-rupestris varieties. It is sensitive to lime over 17 percent. Boubals and Huglin (1950) cite it as being among the varieties resistant to nematodes. 8 B produces a large amount of wood which grafts well, but roots less well." Per D.P. Pongracz, Rootstocks for Grape-vines pp. 100-101: "Selected by Teleki in 1902 from his group 'B'. APTITUDES: Cuttings of 8 B do not root well, but once rooted they graft readily on the spot. [...] Its tolerance of soluable salts in saline soils is nil. It is classified as resistant to nematodes. Because 8 B is very vigorous and tough rootstock, it was widely used in central and south-eastern Europe as a rootstock, but it has been replaced there with better hybrids of the group mainly 5 BB and 5 C. Cosmo in 1931 selected from Teleki's 8 B his 'Teleki-Cosmo 10', and Ferrari in 1921 his 'Teleki-Ferrari'