Scientific Name: Vitis rotundifolia var. rotundifolia
Common Name(s): Muscadine, Bullace, Bull Grape, Southern Fox

Photos by Kayla Sayre, Bella Vista POA Fisheries & Water Quality Sr. Technician

Identification:

The muscadine is a native wild grape found in Arkansas, used primarily for wine production. Muscadine fruit is a thick-skinned grape with a large seed. Immature grapes are green maturing to a yellow bronze or purple when ripe. The fruit becomes ripe in the late summer. The flowers of wild muscadine are dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants, and only the females produce fruit. The male flowers have an extended stamen without a pistil, while the female flowers have shorter inverted stamens with nonfunctional pollen. The flowers bloom from late spring to early summer. Muscadine’s dark green leaves are smooth and glossy without dense hair on the underside. It has simple, undivided leaves that are directly attached to the vine. The leaves have three shallow lobes and are coarsely serrated at the margins. The vines are smooth and darker green brown. The bark develops vertical grooves as it ages, but unlike other grape plants, it does not peel or shed. It grows in unbranched tendrils which emerge opposite the leaves of the main stock. Muscadine, like other grape species, grows on vines that can reach 40 to 60 feet tall and 20 feet wide, depending on soil conditions, nutrient availability, and sunlight exposure.

Variations:

Muscadine has three varieties. The variety found in Arkansas and the southeastern United States is Vitis rotundifolia var. rotundifolia. Another variety, Vitis rotundifolia var munsoniana, grows in Florida, while V. rotundifolia var. popenoei grows in Central America.

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Range:

Muscadine is native to the southeastern and south-central United States. Muscadines grow wild in Arkansas but are less common in northern counties.

Ecology:

Wild Muscadine can be found in dry upland forests. Muscadine grows best and are cultivated in fertile sandy loam and alluvial soils with good drainage. In the wild, it can be found in well-drained soil that does not experience extended periods of drought. Its roots are susceptible to rot, so it cannot live in waterlogged soils. It does best in full sun, as it needs at least 6 hours of direct sunlight, and it thrives in humid conditions. Muscadine will climb high to reach the sun and, with the right soil conditions, it can become a nuisance in shady areas due to its need to climb toward sunlight.

Typically, it takes 3-5 years for a newly planted Muscadine to produce fruit. Muscadine fruit has thick skin, with less than half of the fruit being pulp and up to forty percent being skin and seed. Muscadine grapes will abscise from the cluster at maturity, meaning they will fall away individually and shatter. This differs from California-type grapes, which fall off as bunches. They differ in flavor from table grapes and California-type grapes traditionally used in wine production, and some may describe them as musky or sour in comparison.

The thick skin helps protect from diseases that affect other grape species such as Pierce’s disease. They are relatively resistant to pest attacks, with some minor trouble from parasitic nematodes, grapevine aphids, and grape root borers. They are particularly resistant to phylloxera, an insect that kills grapevine roots.

Muscadine has been grown commercially since 1972, with many cultivars developed to aid effective and efficient fruit production. Cultivars are varieties of the natural muscadine that are often bred to be more commercially desirable. Cultivars are most commonly used in wine production, but other markets include jams, jellies, and juices. The fruit cultivars vary from almost white to purple to nearly black in appearance. Problems can arise from the muscadine fruit abscising from the stem and opening up the pulp, which allows bacteria or fungus to grow. Therefore, cultivars are created to provide a cleaner, smaller, and drier separation when abscising from the stem. In the wild, only female plants bear fruit, but commercially developed cultivars are self-fertilizing to allow for more efficient fruit production. Most vineyards consist of self-fertilizing and female-flowered plants. This allows self-fertilizing plants to fertilize themselves, along with the female plants in the vineyard, resulting in yield from all individuals.

Special Notes:

Here in Bella Vista, muscadine can be found on high ground where water can drain away, along forest margins, or in open unforested areas. They can be cultivated and grown in your backyard, with the first year needing more care and consistent watering. Once mature they can persist easily. Take care to keep the muscadine grapes away from your pets, as they are highly toxic to dogs and moderately toxic to cats.