History of Study and Origin

The grapevine species Vitis lincecumii was identified and described by the researcher Buckley in 1861 in a monograph dedicated to the new plants of Texas and was named after his friend, the naturalist Dr. Gideon Lincecum. For a long time, French botanists and viticulturists mistakenly confused this plant with the southern forms of the summer grape, which have deeply dissected leaves and abundant reddish down on the lower side of the blade.

The scientist Engelmann, like most American botanists, classified Vitis lincecumii as a geographical variety of the summer grape (Vitis æstivalis). In Buckley's herbarium specimens kept in Philadelphia and Washington, confusion between these two species is also found, since their wild hybrids form a continuous series of transitional forms. There are no rigid botanical boundaries between the species Vitis æstivalis, Vitis bicolor, and Vitis lincecumii, but the status of an independent species is fixed for Vitis lincecumii due to the stability of its features in certain habitats. The viticulturist-researcher M. Gard, based on anatomical features, put forward a hypothesis about the hybrid origin of Vitis lincecumii from crossing the summer grape and Vitis candicans. In the wild state, the vine has a specific berry flavor reminiscent of the foxy taste of Vitis labrusca or the harsh acrid taste of Vitis candicans, although the species Vitis labrusca does not grow in the natural range of Vitis lincecumii.

Common Names and Ecological Adaptation

In the United States of America, this species received the common name "Post Oak grape." This name arose not because of the similarity of the shape of the vine leaves and the American post oak (Quercus obtusiloba), as was previously mistakenly believed, but due to their joint growth. In southwestern Missouri, Arkansas, and the Indian Territory, this grapevine grows mainly in dense oak forests, climbing the trunks and crowns of trees. In Louisiana, the vine is adapted to pine forests, which is why the local population calls it the "Pine wood grape."

Geographical Distribution

The natural range of the species is relatively limited. The northern boundary of distribution in the states of Missouri and Arkansas is outlined by the city of Springfield (extreme southwest of Missouri) and the beds of the Sac and White rivers. Further, the range extends through the Indian Territory, Arkansas, northwestern Louisiana, and northeastern Texas. In Texas, the habitat zone of the vine reaches south to a distance of 100 miles from the coast of the Gulf of Mexico and is limited on the east by the Trinity River. In this hot and often arid region, the grapevine inhabits riverbanks, valleys, and low plateaus.

Soil Types and Ecological Requirements

The Vitis lincecumii vine demonstrates selectivity toward the soil substrate and is not found on limestones, nor on yellow or blue clays. The optimal environment for it consists of deep, rich red sandy alluvial soils along riverbanks. When growing on hills, ridges, and slopes, the species is restricted exclusively to soils formed from siliceous or granitic gravel mixed with reddish clay. Such areas may be dry, but they always maintain a sufficient level of fertility.

Breeding History and Cultural Significance

This species attracted the attention of viticulturists due to its high natural resistance to fungal diseases, especially to downy mildew and black rot. Compared to many other wild American vines, Vitis lincecumii is distinguished by a relatively high yield, which prompted researchers to use it for breeding direct producers. The first wild specimens were sent by the breeder Hermann Jaeger to the viticulturist Friedrich Münch (leader of the 1830 German immigration to Missouri), who distributed them in the US under the name "large-berried summer grape." The first isolated form was the "Neosho" type.

Hermann Jaeger conducted detailed breeding work, isolating more than 100 pure wild forms of Vitis lincecumii. The forms under numbers 13 and 43, collected on rocky hills in the vicinity of Neosho, were recognized as the most productive in the wild. When transferred to culture, some fruitful types reduced their yield, which is explained by the absence of male plants in the plantations and the deterioration of pollination. The flowers of functionally female specimens have a normally developed ovary, but their filaments are short and bent downward, and the anthers are incompletely developed.

The use of pure forms of Vitis lincecumii as rootstocks in European vineyards was completely rejected, despite the vigor of the vine and its resistance to phylloxera. Cuttings of this species possess an extremely low rooting capacity, and the plant itself is rigidly adapted to fertile siliceous or sandy substrates. During the restoration of French vineyards, pure forms gave way to other American species. Among the developed forms, only complex interspecific hybrids remained in production for a long time (including the Rupestris × Lincecumii combinations created by Jaeger, and the hybrids obtained in France by the breeder Seibel).

Synonyms

  • Vitis lincecumii Buckley
  • Vitis linsecumii Buckley
  • Vitis linsecomii Munson
  • Vitis diversifolia Prince
  • Post Oak Grape
  • Pine Wood Grape
  • Turkey Grape
  • Big Summer Grape
  • South Western Æstivalis
  • Æstivalis à gros grains

Morphological Description of the Vine and Shoots

The plant possesses exceptionally high vegetative vigor and a pronounced climbing habit. In its natural environment, it climbs the trunks of the tallest post oaks (Quercus stellata). The trunk is powerful, and in conditions of rich river alluvial deposits, its circumference can reach 80 centimeters. The wood is hard and dense; beneath the coarse, exfoliating strips of bark, the dark gray or brownish-red layers have a characteristic reddish-brown (reddish-foveal) tint. The bark is thick and separates in regular, large strips of a dark gray or reddish-brown color.

  • Buds and young leaves: the buds are large, conical in shape, and surrounded by abundant rust-red (rubiginous) down. Upon opening, the young leaves are colored an intense pinkish-carmine. They are quite thick, divided into five lobes, and retain a dense, cobwebby pubescence of a rusty shade.
  • One-year-old shoots: long, of medium thickness, sometimes relatively slender, and slightly wavy. The surface is covered with numerous fine, regular, clearly defined longitudinal grooves. Upon maturation, the shoots acquire a matte, dark wine coloration. At the level of the nodes and at the base of the shoots, a somewhat stiff, slightly rough pubescence is often present. In some forms, the down is arranged in the form of rusty-colored flakes.
  • Nodes and internodes: the nodes are moderately pronounced and weakly thickened. The internodes are of medium length.
  • Internal structure: the wood is strong and has a greenish tint on the fracture. The pith is dense, occupying no more than a third of the total diameter of the shoot, and is colored a pinkish-white. The diaphragms are thick (up to 3 millimeters), concave, clearly outlined from the side of the shoot apex and diffuse at the base.
  • Tendrils: the arrangement is discontinuous. The tendrils are powerful, noticeably widened at the base, and divided into two or three branches. In the herbaceous state, they have a purple coloration and are covered with flocculent down of a white or rusty color.

Characteristics of Leaves

The leaves are large or medium, with dimensions averaging 17 centimeters in length and 15 centimeters in width (the length slightly exceeds the width). The shape of the leaf blade is round-elongated, widened at the base, sometimes almost pentagonal, with moderate asymmetry. Depending on the ecological form, the structure of the blade varies greatly: there are almost entire types, in which the lobes are marked by small sinuses, as well as deeply three- or five-lobed leaves. In dissected forms, the sinuses are deep or very deep, rhomboidal in shape, forming characteristic lyre-shaped lobes. The terminal lobe is most clearly defined, and each of the lobes necessarily terminates in a longer and sharper tooth.

  • Blade and texture: flat, finely reticulate (wrinkled) between the veins. The main and secondary veins are distinctly depressed on the upper side of the leaf, giving the surface a rough appearance. In forms from southern dry soils, the blade is very thick, dense, and brittle; in northern types, it is thinner. Bullated surfaces (bumpiness) occur very rarely.
  • Sinuses and teeth: the petiolar sinus is deep. On entire leaves, it has the shape of a clearly cut, relatively open letter V; on deeply dissected leaves, the sinus acquires a rhomboidal shape and widens at its base. The teeth are of two types: either very wide, flat, smoothed, and barely noticeable, or regular, moderately sharp, triangular in shape, directed toward the apex of the leaf and terminating in a distinct stiff point (mucro).
  • Pubescence: the upper side of the leaf is colored a matte, dull green; it is hairless or bears sparse flakes of cobwebby hairs along the main veins. The lower surface has a paler coloration, sometimes with a characteristic brick or watery-green tint of the tissue (parenchyma), but it is never glaucous-blue like that of the species Vitis bicolor. The main veins are very strong and project highly above the surface. The pubescence is arranged in the form of cobwebby tufts or stiff hairs on the veins and ramifications; it is colored either bluish-white or an intense rust-red, and in some forms, the rusty down covers the veins very abundantly.
  • Petiole: long, sturdy, and departs from the leaf blade at an obtuse angle. It is often covered with short stiff hairs in the form of a small brush or bears flocculent rusty down.

Description of Fruits and Seeds

  • Cluster: medium or large (for wild species), cylindrical-elongated in shape, with moderately developed lateral branches (wings). The peduncle (гребненожка) is short and strong. The pedicels (плодоножки) are strong, relatively long, and terminate in a distinct disk-shaped thickening with verrucose bumps. The pedicel cushion is wide and short, colored a rich dark red.
  • Berries: arranged loosely, not forming great density in the cluster. In size, the berries are medium, spherical, dark purple or almost black in color, and covered with an abundant layer of glaucous bloom. The skin is elastic, although it has a relatively large thickness. The flesh is low in meatiness, tender, melting, of a greenish tint, and quite juicy. The must is characterized by a pleasant sweet taste with a slight tart acidity.
  • Seeds: 2 to 3 seeds are formed in each berry. The seeds are large, their length ranges from 5 to 7 millimeters, and their width from 3 to 5 millimeters. The shape is elongated, almost cylindrical. The surface of the seed is matte, slightly glossy, and colored a brownish-rusty or chocolate color. The area of the depressions, the chalaza, the seed raphe, and the beak have a lighter and more glossy coloration. The lateral depressions on the ventral side are weakly expressed and lack clear boundaries. The beak of the seed is short, thick, and practically not separated from the body of the seed. The chalaza is located on the dorsal side, has a regular rounded shape, is very prominent (strongly raised), and is surrounded along the perimeter by a distinct, deep closed groove. The seed raphe originates sharply from the chalaza, forming a very powerful, prominent, strong ridge limited on the sides by narrow grooves; it curves around the base of the seed and continues as a distinct relief line on the dorsal side up to the beak itself (the appearance of the seeds is shown in fig. 652–653).