by Charlie Mize | RGS & AWS Public Lands Wildlife Forester – SW Virginia
Wild grapes (Vitis spp.) are among the sweetest snacks available to ruffed grouse, who consume them in large quantities when they ripen in late summer and early fall. Some longtime Southern Appalachian grouse hunters recall years past when a successful hunt could be had solely by poking around grape thickets, even without the aid of a dog. These natural arbors harbor hordes of wildlife within their dense, food-rich cover, and they’re especially important when the surrounding forest is in a mature, closed-canopy condition.
Most hunters already know how important wild grapes are to ruffed grouse and other wildlife. But how well do you know your grapes?
The USDA Plants Database recognizes 16 species of grapes native to the U.S., including seven within the range of the ruffed grouse.
Fox grape (V. labrusca) produces large (about ¾ inch) fruits that are as delectable to humans as to birds. The species is found up and down the Eastern Seaboard and west to Louisiana and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Leaves are relatively large, about 6 inches long and wide. It’s found in bottomlands and mesic hardwood stands, especially on rich sites. You can identify them by the fine, rusty-colored hairs covering the undersides of the leaves. This is the species that, crossed with European wine grapes, has produced widely cultivated varieties including Concord, Catawba and Niagara.
Possum grape (V. cinerea), also known as graybark grape or winter grape, is found in bottomlands and riparian areas from Florida to Pennsylvania and west to Kansas and central Texas. Its purplish red fruits reach up to 5/16 inch in diameter and are mildly bitter in taste.
Pigeon grape (V. aestivalis), also known as summer grape, can be found in drier, more upland sites than the fox or possum grape, in a range that covers nearly the entire Eastern U.S. Fruits are between ¼ and ½ inch in diameter and are arranged in 3- to 8-inch-long clusters. This is another species that has contributed to several cultivated hybrid grape varieties.
Chicken grape (V. vulpina), also known as fox grape or frost grape, is found in a wide variety of habitat types across most of the Eastern U.S., excluding New England. Leaves are greenish yellow underneath, while those of other grape species are silvery, and tendrils are never found on more than two consecutive nodes. The common name “frost grape” comes from the fact that the fruit is sour until the first frost, at which time it turns sweet. As winter progresses, the fruits shrivel into naturally occurring raisins, which supply wildlife with crucial winter sustenance.
Riverbank grape (V. riparia), also known as frost grape, has the largest native range of any North American grape species, occurring across the entire Eastern range of the ruffed grouse. It’s particularly notorious for phenotypic variability, but the following traits usually help with identification: reddish brown, shredding bark and red leaf stems. Fruits are usually sour, but sweet strains exist and are sometimes eaten fresh or used for jellies.
Other species you may find include muscadine (V. rotundifolia or Muscadinia rotundifolia), a small-leafed, large-fruited species common in the southern Piedmont and coastal plain that also exists in the Southern Appalachians; sand grape (V. rupestris), a shrubby grape known mostly from the Ozarks but with observations recorded in eastern Tennessee, western Virginia and West Virginia; and the California wild grape (V. californica), the only native wild grape species in the West Coast range of the ruffed grouse.
In the woods, features like flowers and fruit, and even leaves, may be 100 feet above your head in the canopy, so identifying a given grapevine to species may not be possible. This may be a strictly academic task anyway, especially when you encounter a hybrid or uncharacteristic specimen. When it comes down to it, these species all play essentially the same role. Not tolerant of shade, they emerge in disturbed areas, seeds having dispersed there via the guts of birds and mammals.
The vigorous vines form thickets that may overtop shrubs and small trees, in some cases suppressing forest development in small patches. Vines are found hanging from treetops in mature stands, secured by tenacious tendrils. When timber production is the primary objective, this can be a concern. Managers may choose to control the grapes via chemical or mechanical means because the vines can suppress growth, cause limbs to break and present safety hazards to loggers. In closed-canopy stands, simply cutting the vines close to the ground will eliminate them, because the sprouts that reemerge from the roots won’t be able to survive in the shade
On the other hand, forest owners and managers who prioritize wildlife may choose to promote rather than suppress the Vitis components of the community. This can be achieved by ensuring that vines have plenty of light. Falling trees around the infested tree may achieve this, creating a pocket of dense cover and abundant fruit that’ll draw in the wildlife.
I’d be remiss not to mention that grapes are poisonous to dogs. As far as I know, dogs consuming wild grapes isn’t a common problem, but it’s something to bear in mind as you comb your local grape patches for grouse this fall.
