As near as I can figure we have a California Grape, Vitis californica (although what it's doing in north-eastern Washington is beyond me!) I would, however, like some confirmation on this before we start munching on the fruits! We never really noticed it before, I knew it was there and I was curious about the leaves when I first saw them. I thought it might be some sort of blackberry but it had no thorns on the vines and didn't, to my knowledge, produce any fruit. It grows wild along the driveway with a bunch of other weeds and grass and we hack it back when it gets into the driveway. We've lived in the house for 3 years now and I don't recall ever having seen it bloom or seen the grapes on it before so it was a bit of a shock to discover it today decked out in several bunches of purpley-blue grapes! The thing that stumps me is I believe it dies back to ground every fall and according to the material I've read, grapes don't do that. They lose their leaves but have a main vine that remains. I could be mistaken about the dying back, as I said before, we never really paid it much mind until today. Sorry about the picture of the foliage, we've had several light frosts here and it's rather shriveled and brown. The fruit is about 1/2" and perfectly round with a whitish coating, it has no seed and is very juicy and looks just like a grape inside. I hope someone can help me with a positive ID. Do we have grapes? Can we start making wine? LOL Thanks!
19 views and nobody can confirm my ID? Well, my husband went out today and cleared all the brush and grass away from the vines and it appears that they do survive the winter. One of the vines is a good 10 feet long! He set up a trellis for them to grow on and we'll see what we get. We are now pretty much convinced they are California grapes. My husband ate several of them and has suffered no ill affects. He did say that they were good but the skins were tough.
They do look like grapes to me.... I used to have Concordes in Northern Alberta, and if I didn't prune them back to the mother trunk every year, some would come back from the old vines. Your tough skin problem is because they've been exposed to frost.
I think most of us were thinking that these are grapes, and thought you knew, but didn't know which variety it was - therefore, stayed mumm. If that had sprouted from a stray seed, then, it would be a new, as yet unnamed variety - no?
Until yesterday I still wasn't convinced they were actually grapes. Lots of fruits and berries can mimic other fruits and berries and I had never encountered a wild grape before, I didn't even know wild grapes existed! After several hours of research and looking at pictures online, I've become fairly certain I have a wild California grape and since my husband is still among the living, it is, apparently, edible. I was just hoping somebody here could give me confirmation as to what I had because there are so many plants that can cause ill affects when eaten. Thank you Lorax for the heads up on why the skins are tough. Next year we will try to pick them before frost!
Washington has such a nice climate! I envy you guys for having all of that beauty :) . I Wish grapes and and stuff like that grew in Oklahoma City, Heh.
Thank you treez, I love it here. I've never been to Oklahoma City. We lived in Amarillo, TX for a few years and I never got used to all that open space. I need a few hills and mountains around me!!
