Vitis cinerea var. helleri

One of the five varieties of the American species Vitis cinerea (one of the 30 American species or wild vines). It used to be listed as a separate species under the name Vitis berlandieri, which is still used in many sources. It was newly described in 1880 by the French botanist and vine discoverer Jules Émile Planchon (1823-1888). He named it after the Swiss biologist Jean Louis Berlandier (1805-1851), who had first described and catalogued this vine in 1834 in Bexar County, Texas.

Trivial synonyms are Fall Grape, Mountain Grape, Spanish Grape, Sweet Grape, Uva Cimaronna; Vitis Aestivalis Gray, Vitis Aestivalis Wright and Winter Grape. Botanical synonyms or old names are Vitis aestivalis var. monticola Engelmann, Vitis montana Buckl., Vitis monticola Durand and Vitis monticola Mill. The vine is found in the US states of Texas and New Mexico, as well as in northern Mexico. It thrives mainly on riverbanks and on hot, dry and calcareous hills, where it also likes to grow up trees.

It has good resistance to phylloxera, both types of mildew and drought. It is sensitive to frost. It is also highly tolerant of limestone and saline soils, which is why it is also known as the lime vine. However, as it does not root well, it is not suitable as a sole rootstock, but is used as a crossing partner with Vitis riparia. The experiments of the US botanist Thomas Volney Munson (1843-1913) contributed to this realisation. The famous rootstock vine Kober 5 BB originates from a cross between the two species, another is SO 4 (Selection Oppenheim de Teleki No. 4). See also under American vines and vine systematics.

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Vitis cinerea var. helleri

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