Wild Grapes

Wharton, TX(Zone 9a)

Does anyone know what kind of grapes these are? They are growing wild on a friends property.

Thumbnail by fancyflea
San Marcos, TX(Zone 8b)

You probably wont know until they ripen and turn color. They dont look like a Thompsons seedless or one of the elongated varieties. They could also be a Muscadine.
If they are on clay soil, Champanel and Black Spanish are the two most popular grapes for clay.

This message was edited Jun 2, 2010 12:14 PM

Wharton, TX(Zone 9a)

Thank you...I'll keep an eye on them....

La Grange, TX(Zone 8b)

If its growing wild, it could be a mustang grape. There is a large variation in the leaf shape. When ripe. the skin slides off easily and you are left with a transparent marble sized lump.
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/MustangLeaves.gif&imgrefurl=http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblog8.asp&h=278&w=280&sz=48&tbnid=OuDUuY1W1fq39M:&tbnh=113&tbnw=114&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmustang%2Bgrapes&hl=en&usg=__JEANAxuDRn8KihEC7CaLT3bZbSw=&ei=UqcGTNCoNoj0NaSltbsJ&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=8&ct=image&ved=0CDUQ9QEwBw

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/ornamentals/nativeshrubs/vitismustang.htm

When eaten raw, the acrid juice found just under the skin can irritate the throat if the person is sensitive to the juice. It doesn't affect everyone.

Austin, TX(Zone 8b)

I vote mustang, based more on your location than identifying anything from the photo.

We usually pick a bunch and make wine. They're good for jam, too.

The vine can be kudzu-style destructive to trees and such as they climb up and engullf them, so your friend might want to try to control them. It would be a serious task to eliminate them completely, but clipping them off to protect valued trees can go pretty quickly. Keep an eye out for intermingled poison ivy.

Wharton, TX(Zone 9a)

Oh yummy. Jam sounds good. Funny you should mention poison ivy. I was getting rid of some vines on my trees and today I noticed some of those grapes too as the ivy had died back. Do they like to hang out together?

This message was edited Jun 7, 2010 7:14 PM

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