Synonyms of the Species

In botanical and viticultural literature, the following synonyms are used to designate this species: V. vinifera Linné (sp. 293), V. vinifera sylvestris J. Bauch, V. sylvestris C. Steph., V. sylvestris labrusca Gesn., V. labrusca Scop., V. diversifolia Rojas Clemente, V. neglecta Roubieu, hort., Enanthe-labrusca Lob., V. virgiliana Rojas Clemente, V. cebennensis Jordan, V. sylvestris labrusca Tournefort, V. lambrouche Cels (lambrusque), V. vinifera sativa D. C., V. laciniosa Linné, V. apiifolia Bauch, and V. laciniatis foliis J. Cornuti.

To illustrate the anatomical structure of the organs of the species, the scientific literature provides the following documented samples: flowers of V. vinifera (exemplified by the Foster's variety) with long stamens at 10/1 magnification (Fig. 729), another distinct group of flowers of the same Foster's variety at 10/1 magnification (Fig. 730), a cross-section of the leaf blade of a wild representative of V. vinifera (according to the research materials of M. Gard) at 300/1 magnification (Fig. 731), and a cross-section of the leaf blade of the cultivated grapevine V. vinifera exemplified by the Aramon variety (according to the research materials of M. Gard) at 300/1 magnification (Fig. 732).

Geographical Distribution of Wild Forms

The wild grapevine Vitis vinifera (known as V. vinifera sauvage or V. vinifera sylvestris) represents the only indigenous European species belonging to the genus Vitis. The numerous and diverse wild forms, from which modern cultivated varieties are directly descended, cannot currently be defined in an exact and exhaustive manner within their natural environment. The forests that these plants formerly inhabited as powerful lianas have by now been completely destroyed, cleared, or subjected to intense agricultural and economic exploitation. For this reason, wild forms have practically ceased to be found in these woodlands in a spontaneous, pristine state. Reconstructing and establishing the natural habitat of this sole European liana is possible exclusively through the study and analysis of surviving specimens from the oldest authoritative herbaria.

Wild forms of the species Vitis vinifera have been recorded by researchers in the following key geographical regions of the world:

  • North Africa: Algeria (specifically recorded in the provinces of Constantine, Alger, and Oran), Tunisia, and Morocco.
  • Southern Europe and the Mediterranean: Spain (populations are predominantly concentrated in its southern provinces), the Balearic Islands, the islands of Corsica and Sardinia, Italy (in the vicinity of Pisa, Naples, and within Tuscany).
  • France: the Mediterranean coast, the Pyrenees, the historical regions of Angoumois and Berry, Languedoc, Provence, Dauphiné, Aquitaine, Lyonnais, Burgundy, Jura, Alsace, as well as the natural zones of Camargue and Basses-Cévennes.
  • Central and Eastern Europe: Switzerland, Belgium, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Austria (mainly in the forested environs of Vienna), Transylvania, Istria, Illyria, Bosnia, Bulgaria, and Thrace.
  • Asia and the Caucasus: Armenia, the Caucasus, Turkestan, Bessarabia, Kashmir, and China.

Morphological Differences Between Western and Eastern Forms

All discovered wild populations of the Vitis vinifera grapevine are traditionally divided into two distinct fundamental groups based on clear geographical and associated morphological features:

  1. Western Wild Forms: they differ visually and anatomically from eastern populations by having more lobed and distinctly pubescent (downy) leaves. Furthermore, they are characterized by the formation of smaller clusters and reduced-sized berries.
  2. Eastern Wild Forms: the key distinction of this group is the completely glabrous (smooth), less shiny leaf blades. Concurrently, the vines develop large clusters and rather voluminous, fleshy berries. These populations are localized and recorded in the Caucasus, Turkestan, Bessarabia, Kashmir, and within China.

Key Morphological Features of the Species

Establishing uniform, immutable morphological characteristics for a typical representative of the species Vitis vinifera is an extremely complex scientific task. Centuries of cultivated management by humans, continuous artificial selection, and diverse inter-varietal crosses have induced the appearance of an infinite number of individual variations, which are fixed in modern cultivated grapevine varieties. Throughout the process of evolution and selection, countless variations in the size, shape, degree of smoothness, indentation, and dissection of the leaf blades have emerged. No less extensive and profound morphological variations are characteristic of the structure of the grapevine clusters, the size and shape of the mature fruits, as well as the external features of the vegetative shoots.

For a detailed visualization and study of these endless varietal variations, ampelographic materials provide the detailed seed structure of wild V. vinifera at 7/1 magnification (Fig. 733–734) and the seeds of cultivated V. vinifera at the same 7/1 magnification (Fig. 735–736). Additionally, the anatomical structure of the seed is demonstrated using specific varieties as examples: Formosa (Fig. 737), Golden Champion (Fig. 738), Buckland (Fig. 739), Eillade (Fig. 740), Ugni blanc (Fig. 741 and 742), Aspiran Bouschet (Fig. 743), and Sacy (Fig. 744). All images of the varietal seeds are presented at 7/1 magnification.

Specific species features that remain strictly constant and immutable for absolutely all varieties, hybrids, and individual specimens derived from Vitis vinifera consist exclusively of the following anatomical markers:

  • Discontinuity of Tendrils: a stable anatomical feature of the liana's shoot structure that does not change under the influence of environmental factors.
  • Position of the Chalaza on the Seed: regardless of the highly variable overall dimensions of the seed itself across different varieties, the chalaza (or chalazal depression) is always displaced upward and located strictly within its upper third. Concurrently, the chalaza itself may be either rudimentary or quite distinctly pronounced in different variations.
  • Shape of the Seed Beak: the beak of the grapevine seed invariably remains long and very sharply defined at its base.

Additionally, the microstructure of the fruit skin is demonstrated in the research of A. Bonnet using the structure of the cuticle and epidermis of a mature berry of the Chasselas variety (Fig. 745), as well as a detailed anatomical section of the surface of a Vinifera grapevine berry (Fig. 746).

No other common morphological characteristics for the entire colossal diversity of varieties of the species Vitis vinifera currently exist. All other critically important differences between them lie exclusively in the domain of physiological properties and biological aptitudes, such as the high resistance of the vine to chlorosis and its absolute non-resistance (susceptibility) to phylloxera infestation.