Vitis monticola Buckl., sweet mountain grape, champin grape. Woody climber, fall–deciduous, tendrilar, having new shoots arising ± axillary to petiole but tendrils on opposite side of node from petiole, growing on neighboring trees and shrubs and trailing; shoots with only cauline leaves green on both surfaces (concolor), leaves widely spaced on rapidly growing shoots with long internodes and tendrils or inflorescence replacing tendril at 2 successive nodes and the next lacking tendril (inflorescence), repeated along vigorous long spring shoots; tendril unequally 2–branched or 3–branched, 100+—190 mm long, green or rose–red, ± 5–angled at base, first fork below or at midpoint, lateral branch or branches mostly 35—45 mm long and initially coiled at tip, at maturity branch with only a few coils, on opposite side of lateral branch with small appressed, deltate bract 1—1.3 mm.
Stems angled and initially low–ridged, tough, internodes to 125 mm long, with swelling at base of each internode, having linear stipule scars and ledges with 3 descending ridges, cobwebby–tomentose and puberulent, on inner side of leaf scar short–hirsute.
Leaves helically alternate, simple and often weakly 3–lobed above midpoint, petiolate, with stipules; stipules 2, attached on ledge extending from base of petiole broadly attached at base and triangular above, ca. 3.5 × 2.5 mm, early–deciduous resulting in linear scar; petiole narrowly and shallowly channeled, < 20—55(—76) × to 3.5 mm, tough, cowebby tomentose and puberulent with minute glandular hairs; blade ovate to roundish in outline, 65—130(—200) × 65—120(—175) mm, deeply cordate at base, coarsely serrate on margins having callous tip on each tooth, acute at lobe tips, palmately veined with 5 principal veins at base each pinnately veined, with principal veins slightly sunken on upper surface and raised on lower surface, lateral lobe with principal vein to tip, upper surface cobwebby along principal veins and not puberulent, lower surface with loose cobwebby hairs along principal and minor veins, puberulent and short–hairy along along vein, having hairy axils along principal veins (domatia).
Inflorescence panicle of umbel–like cymes on ultimate branchlets, many–flowered, principal lateral branches alternate to subopposite and somewhat ⊥ to axis, flower–bearing shoots < 1—2.5 mm long, bracteate; peduncle ridged aging cylindric, 20—35 mm long, initially cobwebby like stem; bract at base of lateral branch appressed, triangular, to 2 mm long, reddish; rachis somewhat ridged; bractlet subtending pedicel 0.6 × 0.35 mm; pedicel cylindric, 1.5—2.5 mm long, pale green.
Flower bisexual, radial, 3—3.5 mm across (corolla or spreading stamens); calyx entire to shallowly 5–lobed, saucerlike, 0.25—0.35 mm; corolla (4—)5(—6)–lobed, lacking a tube but fused at top 0.3—0.4 mm and abscised as star–shaped unit split upward 80%, lobes obovate, 1.8 × 0.75 mm, light green, truncate and thin at base, with shallow depression at top, inner side above midpoint thick and hooded for housing anther; stamens (4—)5(—6) with 1 for each corolla lobe; filaments in bud 1.3 mm long and erect increasing to 2—2.2 mm long and ascending at pollination, white, domed cells in bud becoming smooth; anthers versatile–dorsifixed, dithecal, 0.8 mm long, pale light yellow, longitudinally dehiscent; pollen pale yellow; pistil 1; ovary superior, 5–sided, 0.4 × 0.6 mm, dull orange, minutely depressed in center at top; style 1, erect, at level of anthers, white with truncate stigma.
Fruit berry, in pendent clusters 20—50, 1—2–seeded, spheroid, 6—9 mm, glaucous and blackish purple; pulp watery, nearly colorless, sweet.
Seed subspheroid (1–seeded) to somewhat hemi–ovoid (2–seeded), 5—6.5 × 4—4.5 mm, finely mottled dark brown and somewhat glossy, rounded on back with central ridge interrupted at center by a raised circle, inner sides separated by midridge and ± domed to somewhat flat, narrow point of attachment black.
A. C. Gibson