Roadless Areas
Home/Species/ Muscadine Grape

Vitis rotundifolia

Michx.

Muscadine Grape

G5Secure Found in 22 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.132816
Element CodePDVIT040H0
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassDicotyledoneae
OrderRhamnales
FamilyVitaceae
GenusVitis
Synonyms
Muscadinia rotundifolia(Michaux) Small
Other Common Names
muscadine (EN) Muscadine (EN)
Concept Reference
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Taxonomic Comments
There are two commonly recognized subgenera in the Grape Family (Vitaceae). The subgenus Vitis, includes the majority of species in the family. The subgenus Muscadinia includes two species: Vitis rotundifolia, including its varieties, and Vitis popenei (Flora of North America 2016). Some authors (e.g., Weakley et al. 2020) elevate subgenus Muscadinia to the rank of genus (Wen et al. 2018). Subgenus Muscadinia differs from subgenus Vitis in having simple tendrils, larger fruits, seeds with longer ventral infolds, and 40 chromosomes rather than 38 (Wen et al. 2018).
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2022-09-30
Change Date1984-03-30
Edition Date2022-04-19
Edition AuthorsMcCarry and Frances
Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences> 300
Rank Reasons
Vitis rotundifolia, the muscadine grape, is a wide ranging woody vine native to North America occurring in the United States, Mexico, the Bahamas, and other Caribbean islands. With a large range extent, many occurrences, abundant habitat, and no obvious intrinsic vulnerabilities, this species is considered Secure.
Range Extent Comments

Vitis rotundifolia is native to North America, occurring in the United States, Mexico, the Bahamas, and other Caribbean islands (Flora of North America 2016, Villaseñor 2016, Weakley 2020, GBIF 2023). In the United States, it is common throughout the southeast, ranging from Maryland west to Missouri and south to Texas and Florida (Flora of North America 2016). In Mexico, V. rotundifolia occurs in Oaxaca, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, and Veracruz (Villaseñor 2016).

Occurrences Comments
While the number of element occurrences has not been calculated for Vitis rotundifolia, it is known from over 600 herbarium specimens collected within the last 30 years (1992-2022), which indicates that there are likely over 300 occurrences.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Vitis rotundifolia occurs in a variety of soils and habitats including woodland, scrub, riparian, thickets, and hammocks in wetlands and non-wetlands (Flora of North America 2016, Hedrick et al. 1908). It is often found along rivers in areas that are shady and well-drained that are neither drought-prone nor water-logged (Hedrick et al. 1908, Olien 1990).
Terrestrial Habitats
Forest/WoodlandWoodland - MixedShrubland/chaparralSand/dune
Palustrine Habitats
FORESTED WETLANDRiparian
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
LouisianaSNRYes
FloridaSNRYes
TexasSNRYes
KentuckySNRYes
VirginiaS5Yes
MississippiSNRYes
North CarolinaS5Yes
MarylandS4Yes
TennesseeSNRYes
ArkansasSNRYes
OklahomaSNRYes
MissouriSNRYes
South CarolinaSNRYes
AlabamaSNRYes
GeorgiaS5Yes
DelawareS4Yes
Plant Characteristics
DurationPERENNIAL
Economic Value (Genus)Yes
Roadless Areas (22)
Alabama (3)
AreaForestAcres
Blue MountainTalladega National Forest4,986
Oakey MountainTalladega National Forest6,129
Reed BrakeTalladega National Forest621
Arkansas (6)
AreaForestAcres
Bear MountainOuachita National Forest1,910
Brush HeapOuachita National Forest4,205
Devils CanyonOzark-St. Francis National Forest1,877
Indian CreekOzark-St. Francis National Forest7,855
Little BlakelyOuachita National Forest3,342
Pedestal RocksOzark-St. Francis National Forest21,957
Florida (2)
AreaForestAcres
Alexander Springs CreekOcala National Forest2,954
Farles PrairieOcala National Forest1,901
Georgia (4)
AreaForestAcres
Cedar MountainChattahoochee National Forest1,083
Indian Grave GapChattahoochee National Forest1,020
Lance CreekChattahoochee National Forest9,025
Rocky MountainChattahoochee National Forest4,269
Louisiana (1)
AreaForestAcres
Saline Bayou W & S River CorridorKisatchie National Forest5,355
North Carolina (4)
AreaForestAcres
Catfish Lake NorthCroatan National Forest11,299
Pond Pine BCroatan National Forest2,961
Sheep Ridge AdditionCroatan National Forest5,808
Yellowhammer Branch (add.)Nantahala National Forest1,255
Tennessee (1)
AreaForestAcres
Stone MountainCherokee National Forest5,367
Texas (1)
AreaForestAcres
Little Lake CreekNational Forests in Texas596
References (13)
  1. Buck, K. and M. Worthington. 2022. Genetic diversity of wild and cultivated muscadine grapes (<i>Vitis rotundifolia</i> Michx.). Frontiers in Plant Science 13:852130.
  2. Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2016. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 12. Magnoliophyta: Vitaceae to Garryaceae. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. xxiv + 603 pp.
  3. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2023. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2023).
  4. Hedrick, U. P., N.O. Booth, O. M. Taylor, R. Wellington, and M. J. Dorsey. 2008. The Grapes of New York. Report of the New York Agricultural Experiment Station. JB Lyon Company, state printers, Albany.
  5. Hickey, C.C., E. D. Smith , S. Cao and P. Conner. 2019. Muscadine (<i>Vitis rotundifolia</i> Michx., syn. <i>Muscadinia</i> <i>rotundifolia</i> (Michx.) Small): The resilient, native grape of the southeastern U.S. Agriculture 9(6): 1-13.
  6. Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
  7. Olien, W. C. 1990. The Muscadine Grape: Botany, Viticulture, History, and Current Industry. HortScience 25:7(732-739).
  8. Villaseñor, J.L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad 87: 559-902.
  9. Walker, M.A., C.C. Heinitz, S. Riaz, and J. Uretsky. 2019. Grape Taxonomy and Germplasm. Pages 25-38: in D. Cantu and M.A. Walker, editors. The Grape Genome. Springer, Cham, Switzerland.
  10. Ward, D. 2006. Keys to the flora of Florida -- 13, Vitis (Vitaceae). Phytologia 88(2): 216-223.
  11. Weakley, A.S. 2020. Flora of the Southeastern United States. 20 October 2020 Edition. University of North Carolina Herbarium (NCU), North Carolina Botanical Garden, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
  12. Weakley, A.S., R.J. LeBlond, B.A. Sorrie C.T. Witsell, L.D. Estes, K. Gandhi, K.G. Mathews, and A. Ebihara. 2011. New combinations, rank changes, and nomenclatural and taxonomic comments in the vascular flora of the southeastern United States. Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas 5(2):437-455.
  13. Wen, J., A. J. Harris, Y. Kalburgi, N. Zhang, Y. Xu, W. Zheng, S. M. Ickert-Bond, G. Johnson, and E. A. Zimmer. 2018. Chloroplast phylogenomics of the New World grape species (<i>Vitis</i>, Vitaceae). Journal of Systematics and Evolution 56(4):297-308.