| Birch-leaf grape | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Magnoliophyta |
| Class: | Magnoliopsida |
| Order: | Vitales |
| Family: | Vitaceae |
| Genus: | Vitis |
| Species: | V. betulifolia |
| Binomial name | |
| Vitis betulifolia Diels & Gilg[1] |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
V. hexamera Gagnep.
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Vitis betulifolia is a widely-ranging species of liana in the grape family native to China (found in Gansu, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Shaanxi, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces) where its habitat is forested or shrubby valleys and hillsides, at elevations as low as 600 and as high as 3600 meters.[1]
V. betulifolia has rather long intervals for both flowering (March — June) and fruiting (June — November), bearing globose, blackish-purple berries.[1]
Although there may be no vernacular English name for this species, the Chinese name is hua ye pu tao, which translates to "birch-leaf grape".[2] Both the Latin word used for the epithet (betulifolia) and the Chinese hua ye mean "birch leaf". Pu tao is the Chinese word for grape.