Synonyms

The following names are used for this species in botanical literature: Vitis retordi Romanet du Caillaud, Vitis carrierei Caplat.

History of Study and Distribution

The species Vitis retordi received its scientific name from J. E. Planchon based on letters from Romanet du Caillaud. The description was compiled from plants in the Museum collection that were grown from seeds sent from Tonkin (from the mountainous regions of Ninh Binh and Son Tay in the Hanoi province). Planchon linked these plants to those collected by Abbé Bon in 1883 in Western Tonkin (in the Kien Khe locality). Initially, there were assumptions about its similarity to the species Vitis lanata, but a detailed analysis showed that Vitis retordi significantly differs from it.
This Indo-Chinese species remains poorly understood. Nevertheless, if its identity with the form described by Mr. Lemarié in the journal Revue de viticulture is confirmed, this grapevine may present a certain cultural and agricultural value.

Botanical Description

  • Bush: At the time of compiling the original academic description, the structural features of the mature bush (trunk) remained unknown.
  • Shoots: Long, slender, with deep longitudinal furrows and a ribbed surface. Internodes are long. The shoots have a pronounced reddish-brown color due to a dense covering layer of fluffy, rusty-brown hairs collected in small clusters. Nodes are weakly expressed and almost unnoticeable. Flower clusters are elongated and sparsely branched; the peduncle features a tendril enveloped in dense rusty down. Tendrils are intermittent, slender, and forked.
  • Leaves: From medium to small sizes, noticeably longer than wide, of a clear cordate and lanceolate shape. The leaf blade is entire, with regular margins and without the slightest signs of lateral lobes. At the apex, the leaf narrows and tapers into a single long, curved tooth. The petiole sinus is deep, V-shaped, quite well open, but features a wide base. The veins are strong, strongly projecting on the underside. The leaf blade is flat or with weak bullation, relatively thick. The upper side of the leaf is dark green and matte. The underside has an intense rusty-red tint, as it is densely covered with floccose, cobwebby hairs distributed along the main and secondary veins. The teeth along the margins of the leaf blade are barely cut and are determined mainly by the very sharp projecting tips. The petiole is short and slender, dotted along its entire length down to the base of insertion with small clusters of rusty hairs.
  • Fruit, Clusters, and Seeds: The morphological characteristics of mature clusters, berries, and seeds could not be described by the authors of the original study.