river grape

river grape (Vitis riparia)
native, weed
pictures taken in june (left) and july (right)

there are a bunch of different types of grape that are a bit difficult to tell apart. i'm pretty sure the one on the left is river grape! river grape is named that because it often grows near rivers. it's got very toothy leaves and doesn't produce as many tendrils as other grapes. the one on the right is, i think, fox grape (Vitis labrusca), because of the number of tendrils, but i really can't quite tell.

river grapes are enjoyed by birds, but they're not tasty to humans (sadly) - they're very sour. fox grapes are apparently a bit sweeter and the wild ancestor of tame Concord grapes - the kind made into welch's grape juice!

grape vines love to clamber up and over just about anything; fences, trees, the ground. the tendrils are quite pretty, i think. as a climbing vine, wild grapes can and do smother things they climb over; they can form light-blocking thickets with their large leaves and snap tree branches with their weight. harmless on fences and such, but a bit of a menace if it escapes into a forest.