Vitis mustangensis Buckley

Mustang Grape

Vine

Perennial

Vascular

Mustang Grape is a native perennial woody vine in the Grape family (Vitaceae). It is known from a single county in west-central Alabama. Most of its range lies west of our state (La., Miss., Okla., Tex.). Mustang Grape occurs along fence rows and forest edges in the Black Belt Region. It is a high climbing woody vine, climbing by branched tendrils. The young stems are green in color, lack red bands at the nodes, and are densely pubescent with shaggy white hairs. Older vines have reddish-brown bark exfoliating in long shreds. Leaves are alternate, petiolate, cordate to reniform in outline, usually unlobed but sometimes deeply 3-5 lobed, with entire to toothed margins. The lower side of the leaf is densely white pubescent. Flowers are produced in functionally unisexual cymes opposite the leaves. The flowers are small and greenish-yellow in color. The fruit is a globose black berry. The fruit is bitter and acidic when eaten raw, but has been used to produce jellies and wine. The fruit and leaves have also been used as a source of dye for wool. Mustang Grape is listed as an S1 species in Alabama (typically 5 or fewer occurrences, very few remaining individuals, or some factor of its biology making it especially vulnerable in the state), and globally as a G4 species (imperiled globally because of rarity (6 - 20 occurrences) or very vulnerable to extinction throughout its range because of other factors).—A. Diamond.

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Native S1 (State Rank) G4 (Global Rank)

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