Vitis palmata — catbird grape
Copyright: various copyright holders. To reuse an image, please click it to see who you will need to contact.
New England distribution
Adapted from BONAP data
Native: indigenous.
Non-native: introduced (intentionally or unintentionally); has become naturalized.
County documented: documented to exist in the county by evidence (herbarium specimen, photograph). Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
State documented: documented to exist in the state, but not documented to a county within the state. Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
Note: when native and non-native populations both exist in a county, only native status is shown on the map.
Found this plant? Take a photo and post a sighting.
enlargeFacts
Vitis palmata is native liana of the southern United States. It has been introduced to New England. It is noteworthy for its red branchlets.
Habitat
Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats)
Characteristics
- Habitat
- terrestrial
- New England state
- Connecticut
- Growth form
- the plant is a liana (i.e., a woody plant with a vine-like growth form)
- Leaf type
- the leaf blade is simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)
- Leaves per node
- there is one leaf per node along the stem
- Leaf blade edges
- the edge of the leaf blade has lobes, or it has both teeth and lobes
- Leaf duration
- the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)
- armature on plant
- the plant does not have spines, prickles, or thorns
- Leaf blade length
- 80–140 mm
- Leaf blade width
- 80–120 mm
- Leaf stalk
- the leaves have leaf stalks
- Fruit type (general)
- the fruit is fleshy
- Bark texture
- the bark of an adult plant peels off easily or hangs off
- Twig winter color
-
- brown
- purple
- red
- Bud scale number
- there are two scales on the winter bud, and their edges meet
-
Buds or leaf scars
- Bud scale number
- there are two scales on the winter bud, and their edges meet
- Bud scar shape (Fraxinus)
- NA
- Collateral buds
- there are no collateral buds on the sides of the branches
- Superposed buds
- there are no superposed buds on the branch
-
Flowers
- Carpels fused
- the carpels are fused to one another
- Enlarged sterile flowers
- there are no enlarged sterile flowers on the plant
- Flower petal color
- yellow or green
- Flower symmetry
- there are two or more ways to evenly divide the flower (the flower is radially symmetrical)
- Hairs on ovary (Amelanchier)
- NA
- Hypanthium present
- the flower does not have a hypanthium
- Inflorescence type
- the inflorescence is a panicle (branched with the individual flowers on stalks)
- Number of pistils
- 1
- Ovary position
- the ovary is above the point of petal and/or sepal attachment
- Petal and sepal arrangement
- the flower includes two cycles of petal- or sepal-like structures
- Petal appearance
- the petals are thin and delicate, and pigmented (colored other than green or brown)
- Petal fusion
- the perianth parts are separate
- Sepal cilia (Ilex)
- NA
- Stamen number
- 5
- Stamen position relative to petals
- the stamens are lined up with the petals (antepetalous)
-
Fruits or seeds
- Berry color
- black
- Fruit type (general)
- the fruit is fleshy
- Fruit type (specific)
- the fruit is a berry (fleshy, with the wall enclosing one or more sections, with two or more seeds)
- Nut with spines (Fagaceae)
- NA
- Wings on fruit
- there are no wings on the fruit
-
Glands or sap
- Sap color
- the sap is clear and watery
- Stalked glands on fruit (Rosa)
- NA
-
Growth form
- Growth form
- the plant is a liana (i.e., a woody plant with a vine-like growth form)
-
Leaves
- Hairs on upper side of leaf blade
- the upper side of the leaf is not hairy, or has very few hairs
- Leaf blade base shape
- The base of the leaf blade is cordate (heart-shaped, with rounded lobes)
- Leaf blade edges
- the edge of the leaf blade has lobes, or it has both teeth and lobes
- Leaf blade edges (Acer)
- NA
- Leaf blade flatness
- the leaf is flat (planar) at the edges
- Leaf blade hairs
- NA
- Leaf blade length
- 80–140 mm
- Leaf blade scales
- there are no scales on the leaf blades
- Leaf blade shape
-
- the leaf blade is orbicular (roughly circular, as wide as long)
- the leaf blade is ovate (widest below the middle and broadly tapering at both ends)
- the leaf blade is triangular, with the stalk or attachment point on one of the sides
- Leaf blade translucent dots
- there are no translucent dots on the leaf blade
- Leaf blade width
- 80–120 mm
- Leaf duration
- the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)
- Leaf lobe tips (Quercus)
- NA
- Leaf midrib glands
- the midrib of the leaf blade lacks glands on the upper surface
- Leaf stalk
- the leaves have leaf stalks
- Leaf stalk nectaries
- there are no nectaries on the leaf stalk
- Leaf teeth
- the leaf blade margin is serrate (with forward-pointing) or dentate (with outward-pointing) with medium-sized to coarse teeth
- Leaf teeth hairs (Carya)
- NA
- Leaf type
- the leaf blade is simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)
- Leaves per node
- there is one leaf per node along the stem
- Specific leaf type
- the leaves are simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets
-
Place
- Habitat
- terrestrial
- New England state
- Connecticut
- Specific habitat
- man-made or disturbed habitats
-
Scent
- Plant odor
- the plant does not have much of an odor, or it has an unpleasant or repellant odor
-
Stem, shoot, branch
- Aerial roots
- the plant has no aerial roots
- Bark texture
- the bark of an adult plant peels off easily or hangs off
- Branch brittleness (willows only)
- NA
- Branch cross-section
- the branch is circular in cross-section, or it has five or more sides, so that there are no sharp angles
- First-year cane (Rubus)
- NA
- Lenticels on twigs
- there are no lenticels on the twigs, or they are very hard to see
- Pith shape
- the outline of the pith in a twig is roughly round
- Twig papillae (Vaccinium species only)
- NA
- Twig winter color
-
- brown
- purple
- red
- Wings on branch
- the branch does not have wings on it
- armature on plant
- the plant does not have spines, prickles, or thorns
Wetland status
Occurs only in wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: OBL)
New England distribution and conservation status
Distribution
- Connecticut
- present
- Maine
- absent
- Massachusetts
- absent
- New Hampshire
- absent
- Rhode Island
- absent
- Vermont
- absent
Conservation status
None
Native to North America?
Yes
Sometimes confused with
- Vitis vulpina:
- branchlets usually green, maturing gray to brown, sometimes with purple or red coloration restricted to one side of the branchlet, leaf blades acute to short-acuminate at the apex, and seeds 3–5 mm long (vs. V. palmata, with branchlets red to purple throughout, maturing red-brown to dark red-brown, leaf blades acuminate to long-acuminate at the apex, and seeds 4–7 mm long).
- Vitis vinifera:
- leaf blades orbicular to suborbicular, often prominently lobed with deep sinuses, commonly with some patches of thin tomentum on the abaxial surface, especially in early season, and exocarp of fresh fruit separated from mesocarp only with difficulty (vs. V. palmata, with leaf blades ovate to orbicular, unlobed or with obscure to evident lobes, lacking tomentose hairs, though usually with straight hairs, and exocarp of fresh fruit readily separated from mesocarp).
Synonyms
- Vitis rubra Michx.
Family
Genus
From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae
3. Vitis palmata Valh E
catbird grape. Vitis rubra Michx. • CT. Railroads, yards.