Wild Grape

This post is recycled from 2005.

Wild Grape, sometimes called "fox grape" is one of the most common thick-stemmed woody vines in our eastern woods. These vines can climb 30-50 feet tall, and often grow up with the trees that serve as their hosts. The bark of Wild Grape is brownish-gray and shreds off in thin strips.

There are several species of Wild Grape in Virginia and Maryland, most of which are similar and difficult to tell apart. The most common species are Fox Grape (Vitis labrusca), Summer Grape (Vitis aestivalis), and Riverbank Grape (Vitis riparia).

Wild Grape is very common where wood and pasture meet -- prime locations for fox, raccoon and groundhog dens -- but can also be found in abundance along roadsides, and cascading down from trees along the edges of ponds, or down cliff faces along rivers.

Wild Grape flowers from May to July, but the flowers are small and green and often quite high up and are not noticed. The grapes begin to set on in August and last until October. Wild grapes are very important to wildlife. Groundhogs dens located under thick masses of fruiting wild grapes should be checked for raccoons in September and October.

Wild grapes are also a favorite of many species of song birds, as well as white-tailed deer, black bear, wild turkey, possum, skunk and squirrel.