Sie sind auf Seite 1von 13

Grape Botany

Grape-vines that is, plants of the family Vitaceae are widespread in


the temperate parts of the northern hemisphere; the largest number of species
are native to North America. The European grape-vine, Vitis vinifera, is the
best-known species and has been cultivated longer than any other.
Grapes, the fruit of the vine, have been used by man from very early times.
Recognisable grape-seeds have been found in tombs in Egypt dating from about
1000 BC, and grapes may also have been used in the Swiss and Italian lakedwellings of the Bronze Age. The earliest use of grapes must have been as food,
but the practice of fermenting the juice to make wine is very ancient. It was
probably started in one of the Mediterranean countries between 2000 and 1000
BC, but there are no exact records. In classical Roman times the vine was
already intensively cultivated, and in the Roman code of laws called the Twelve
Tables (450 BC) severe penalties were laid down for theft in vineyards.
The vine requires a climate with a long, hot summer if the fruit is to ripen
satisfactorily. The countries of southern Europe provide this climate ideally, and
France and Italy are the largest producers of wine. Vines are also grown on a
large scale in South Africa, Australia, Chile, and the warmer parts of the US.
They will grow in Britain, but here the fruit only ripens in the open in the
hottest summers.
During the 19th century the European vine industry was threatened with
disaster: new kinds of vines were introduced from America, and with them
various pests and diseases native to the vines of that continent. These attacked
the European vines, which, having no inherent immunity to them, suffered very
severely, whole vineyards being destroyed.
Some of the diseases were caused by fungi, but one of the worse pests
was an insect called Phylloxera, which attacks the roots. It was found that the
best protection was obtained by planting stocks of native American vines which,
although poor producers of grapes, were immune to the attacks of the pest, and
grafting European vines on to them. Since the roots are part of the stock, the
whole plant is then able to resist the insect's attacks.
It must not be assumed from this that all American native species are
useless as producers of fruit. Although the grape-growing industry of California
is founded on the European species Vitis vinifera, that of the eastern United
States has been developed from a variety of native species.

The root
The root of the vine varies according to the species and the way in which the
plant is propagated i.e. from seeds, buds, or cuttings.

The stem

This is how the leaves are arranged on the stem.


The stem of the vine is formed of the stock and of the branches which rise
from it. At intervals along the brances there are more or less thickened nodes.
The leaf-buds grow out of these nodes, and at about the third or fourth node a
leaf forms on one side, and on the other side either a cluster of fruit or a tendril.
From some of the nodes, at which a leaf has grown, secondary shoots or
branches, called axillary shoots, grow out. In a warm climate these can produce
clusters of fruit which will ripen later than those on the main branches, and so a
double harvest is obtained.
The leaf

Different types of vine leaves.

The tendrils
The tendrils grow out on the sides of the nodes opposite the leaves. They wind
round the branches of trees and shrubs, or artificial supports, and enable the
vine to support itself and climb upwards.

The flower

Inflorescence of the vine.


The flowers of the vine are arranged in an inflorescence called a raceme. Each
flower is carried on a stalk or pedicel which is expanded where it meets the
calyx.

Vine flower.

The calyx consists of five small teeth, the sepals; the corolla of five
petals, which are joined at the top, forms a sort of hood. When the flower is
fully developed the hood falls off, revealing the five stamens, which carry the
pollen and the central pistil, shaped like a tiny flask. In some kinds of vine
stamens and pistils are borne on separate flowers.
The fruit
The fruit of the vine is called a grape. This is how the fruit cluster appears
before and after picking grapes.
A grape
In the grape or berry we can make out three distinct parts: the skin or epicarp;
the pulpy mesocarp, containing the juice or 'must', rich in sugars and acid; and,
lying within this, the pips or seeds which form the endocarp.
The seeds
Both the size and shape of the seeds vary according to the species of vine. The
seeds contain an oily substance (10 to 20 percent by weight) which supplies
nourishment for the embryo at the time of germination.
Pruning and shaping the vine

Pruning is an operation by which certain of the woody and herbaceous parts of


the plant are cut away. Among other things, its purpose is to give the vine a
definite shape designed to make the best use of space and the easiest conditions
of work in the vineyard.

Food content of the grape


The grape has a high nutritional value, mainly on account of the sugars it
contains. These are glucose and fructose, both of which can be easily and
immediately assimilated by the human body. The grape contains around 20
percent of these sugars, and this, in terms of energy, works out at about 360
calories per pound of grapes (a man doing normal work requires 2,400 to 2,500
calories daily). In addition to sugars, a variety of nutritionally valuable elements
is found, including phosphorus, potassium, iron, copper, calcium, magnesium,
cobalt, and zinc. These are all essential to our health, although some are
required only in minute quantities. In addition the grape contains vitamins A,
B1, B2, and C.
Vitis vinifera L.
Vitaceae / Vine Family.
The name sometimes appears as Vitidaceae, but Vitaceae is a conserved name
and therefore has priority over both Vitidaceae and another name sometimes
found in the older literature, Ampelidaceae.
When I speak about the grapevine, I have to make clear that I mean the
cultivated grapevine, scientifically baptized Vitis vinifera subsp. vinifera (syn.
subsp. sativa Hegi), and not the native wild grapevine, Vitis vinifera subsp.
sylvestris (C.C.Gmelin) Hegi. One of the major differences between these two
is that subsp. vinifera can be found abundantly everywhere in Crete, while
subsp. sylvestris is a rare native of Chania. According to G. Sfikas, the wild,
native form of the grape, subsp. sylvestris, can be found in Chania, in the
eparchy of Kydonia. Another major difference is that subsp. sylvestris (the wild
vine) is a dioecious climber (with both male and female plants), while subsp.
vinifera has bisexual flowers (monoecious: every flower with ovary and
anthers); under domestication, variants with perfect flowers appear to have
been selected.
Subsp. sylvestris has small bluish-black acid-tasting fruits about 6 mm, with
usually 3 seeds. Subsp. vinifera is cultivated since ancient times, and

has larger fruits, 6-22 mm, which are sweet and vary in colour from green,
yellow, red, or blackish-purple, with 2 or no seeds. It is often grafted on to

stock from American species and cultivated in great quantities for its sweet
fruits (grapes), wine-making, raisins or sultanas (small seedless grapes which
are dried), etc.
Especially in the more isolated areas like the many abandoned small villages,
the cultivated grapevine frequently escapes and becomes naturalized. These
plants are monoecious like their cultivated parents.
The grapevine has been cultivated since ancient times; it was extensively grown
in Crete according to the paintings on old vases, and from Greece they were
first imported into Italy. The Romans introduced the grape into S.E. Europe.
This is the "old world grape" or "European grape". accounting for more then
90% of world production, including cultivars such as: Pinot Noir, Cabernet
Sauvignon, White Riesling, Chardonnay, and Black Corinth.
However, Vitis vinifera L. is not a very pure species. In the literature there are
over 100 species in the Vitis-family (Vitaceae), about 60 of these are thought to
be genuine species and more then 40 are questionable (probably hybrids
between different species, many of them are very indistinct from each other).
The origin of Vitis is almost entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and they are
abundant in North America. Nearly every American state has its own native
Vitis species.
When the grape root louse (phylloxera) reached Europe from north-central
USA in 1860, the need for resistant rootstocks arose. Vitis labrusca L. (syn. V.
labruscana Bailey) and other species native to the host range of the phylloxera
(north-central USA) were hybridized with V. vinifera to produce a range of
stocks with resistance. In addition to use as rootstocks, some hybrids were
found which had both resistance and excellent wine quality attributes. V.
labrusca itself was not very pure, probably contaminated with other native
American grapes and vinifera grapes. Also, Vitis aestivalis Michaux was used
to obtain resistance to diseases in European hybrids, i.e., crosses were made
between V. vinifera and V. aestivalis, as well as with other American species;
these are primarily crosses between V. vinifera and one or more of V. labrusca,
V. riparia, V. aestivalis, Vitis rotundifolia Mich.,Vitis rupestris Sch. or Vitis
gegas. The species occur in widely different geographical areas and show a
great diversity of form. They are closely related and allow easy interbreeding
and the resultanting hybrids are always fertile and vigorous. Thus the concept
of a species is less well defined and more likely represents different ecotypes of
Vitis that have evolved in distinct geographical circumstances.
Now, let's take a closer look the grapevine, and I mean the cultivated grapevine,
Vitis vinifera subsp. vinifera.

Vine stems are "lianas" or woody, climbing vines and can be up to 35 m,


climbing over trees, rocks or the pergola at the third floor of my
neighbour's apartment. In cultivation it is usually reduced by annual pruning to
1-3 m. Most grapes have loose, flaky bark on older wood usually peeling from
old stems in long shreds, but smooth bark on 1-year-old wood. The name vine
is derived from the Latin 'viere' (to twist), and has reference to the twining
habits of the plant.
The leafs are cordate, usually palmately 5- to 7-lobed, leaf margins irregularly
toothed (dentate), alternate and stipulate. Well, stipulate? At the base of the
petiole is a small scale with two tiny points and with a dot of frizzy white hairs,
but you'll need a microscope to see the stipule. The same frizzy, long curly
hairs can be found at the underside of the leaf; this arachnoid tomentum looks
like the threads of a spiders cobweb. The veins at the underside of the leaf are
also hairy. The upperside is glabrescent. Leaves can be quite large, sometimes
more then 25 cm in width. In the eastern Mediterranean, Greece and Israel the
leaves of the grape vine are itself used in the production of a common delicacy
called domades : the leaves are wrapped around a vegetarian filling of rice,
herbs and chickpeas or rice with lamb.
The plant climbs with the help of tendrils. The tendrils are branched and occur
opposite the leaves at the nodes, normally opposite 2 leaves out of every 3, and
automatically begin to coil when they contact another object. Also, after the
formation of two or three complete flower-clusters, the following clusters are
not completed but partially transformed in tendrils. Then, in summer, the flower
clusters are completely aborted and replaced by tendrils.
The grape inflorescence is called a racemose panicle. These clusters of small
greenish flowers are borne on new shoots at the nodes opposite the foliage
leaves in the same position as the tendrils and are typically at the third to sixth
nodes from the base of the shoot.
The numerous flowers are hermaphrodite, indiscrete small, green and
actinomorphic.
The calyx consists of 5 very shortly lobed united sepals, is glabrous and
undulate.
And, at last, we have come to that fascinating corolla. The 5 petals are small,
about 5 mm and pale green, free from each other at the base, but are fused at the
apex. This corolla is called a cap or calyptra. It detaches from the base of the
flower and pops off as one unit at anthesis without separating, see details 2, 3
and 4; detail 5 shows a blooming flower. In detail 3 you'll see an external view
of the sepals or calyptra after it has been thrown off at anthesis; detail 4 is the

same calyptra but an internal view.


Just as there are 5 sepals and 5 petals, there are 5 stamens. These are placed in a
whorl that alternates with the sepals, so that they are placed in front of the
petals, hence they are called antepetalous or alternisepalous or isomerous with
the perianth . The stamens are equal and free from one another and free from
the perianth and are inserted at the base of the disk (yes, a disk and I'll get back
to that later). The anthers dehisce via longitudinal slits and open introrse, that is
in the direction of the centre of the flower. Most varieties are self-fruitful and
do not require pollinizers ,in others pollination is accomplished by the wind and
I doubt if insects play any role in this.
The gynoecium is superior, see detail 5. The ovary consists of two carpels
forming two locules each with 2 ovules . Thus there is a possible maximum of
four seeds per berry, see detail 7 for a transverse section of the ovary formed
from two carpels with reflex edges. The placentation is axile with a ventral
raphe, see 6 for a longitudinal section of the ovary. There is one style and one
stigma.
As can be seen in details 2, 5 and 6 there is a disk between the peduncle and the
ovary. In the two very different varieties (a black and a white grape vine) that I
have investigated, the disk was more or less round and I could not find much of
lobes or nectaries or glands. This disk is very distinct from the ovary and very
probably has a function as a gland, because small flies love to visit the flowers,
so these likely produce sugar or any sweet smelling excretion. Other cultivars
are reported to have a five-lobed glandular disk at the base of the ovary.
The fruit is the well known sweet grape: green, yellow or dark purple, having a
fine layer of wax on the surface, growing in pendent clusters or bunches. This is
botanically a berry; it is fleshy with a juicy pulp, 6 - 22 mm, round to globose
and does not open (indehiscent). Although most cultivars have no seeds by way
of aborted embryos (polyplody perhaps playing a role as the basic
chromosome-number is 2n=38, but several species have 57 (triploids) or 76
(tetraploids) chromosomes), the maximum number of seeds is 4. In some
cultivars the development of embryo and endosperm is stopped, in other
seedless cultivars fertilization does not occur, meaning that their berries are
parthenocarpic. The seeds are pyriform, beaked, see detail 10. Detail 11 shows
a longitudinal section of the seed revealing its layers as exoderm, mesoderm
and endoderm, then the large white part is the large ruminate endosperm where
in the lower part is place for a small upright straight embryo. Detail 12 shows
sections of the seed at different heights, revealing the strange shape of the
albumen.
Distribution: The native habitat of the grape vine is unknown, but it is

probably native of Caspian and Caucasus region of S.W. Asia until S.E.
Europe; it is now cultivated extensively in Central Europe extending
northwards in S.W. Poland, W. Germany and The Netherlands, the whole
Mediterranean region, Iran, China, Japan, N. & S. Africa, Australia, India, and
Pakistan.
One of the most important products of the grape vine is wine. In Egyptian
hieroglyphics the culture of grapes and wine making is described as early as
2440 BC. Probably the Phoenicians carried grape cultivars to Greece, as wine
was known to both the Minoan and Mycenaean cultures and wine was
frequently mentioned in the works of Homer and Aesop. To prevent the effects
of heavy consumption of alcohol, wine was usually watered down at a ratio of
four or five parts water to one of wine and served in "mixing bowls". Greek
wine was widely known and exported throughout the Mediterranean basin, and
amphorae with Greek styling and paintings have been found throughout the
area. The Greeks brought it to Rome and southern France before 600 BC, and
the Romans toke the grape with them throughout Europe. Grapes were then
brought to the far east via traders from Persia and India. In our modern days
alcohol is too often connected with violence and vandalism, so it is not strange
that Dionysus the Greek god of both wine and revelry was.
Although glass bottles were known to the Greeks, they were more commonly
used by the Romans. Cork closures, although known to exist at the time, were
not very common. Therefore, the Romans used olive oil to "float" atop wine to
preserve it from oxidation. Their oil method of preservation was apparently
effective enough to keep the wine from evaporation up to modern day.

Many diseases threaten the culture of vines. The most well known is Phylloxera
(see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phylloxera ). This is an American root aphid
that devastated V. vinifera vineyards in Europe when accidentally introduced in
the late 19th century. Attempts were made to cross in resistance from American
species, but winemakers didn't like the 'foxy' flavours of the hybrid vines.
Fortunately, V. vinifera grafts easily onto rootstocks of the American species,
and most commercial production of grapes now relies on such grafts.

Grape Vine or Vitis vinifera, showing young flower (1), vertical section of
flower (2), flower without corolla (3), vintage engraved illustration. Trousset
ency Vector by Morphart

Das könnte Ihnen auch gefallen