Vitis girdiana
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| Vitis girdiana | ||||||||||||||
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| Vitis girdiana Munson |
The wild grape species Vitis girdiana is known as the desert wild grape and Southern California wild grape. It is quite similar to the California wild grape, Vitis californica. They are currently treated as two different species but may be subspecies of one.
It is a climbing grapevine growing at low elevation in Southern California, including some of the Channel Islands. It is a member of the chaparral plant community and can be found in riparian woodlands. It is tolerant of a wide variety of soils and does well in drought conditions. It bears bunches of small, sweet, edible purple to black grapes up to 8 millimeters in diameter which are browsed by wildlife. It is also grown as an ornamental plant for its attractive hanging foliage and tendrils. The Cahuilla of southern California made wine and raisins from the grapes.
