Field Guide

Winter grape is a wild grapevine that can climb up to 50 feet. It occurs in low woods and along streams, in thickets, and in fencerows. It’s common in the southern two-thirds of Missouri.

Frost grape is a vigorous vine climbing to 60 feet in length using tendrils. It is scattered statewide, growing in bottomlands, along streams, in low, wet woods, at bases of bluffs, and in thickets.

Riverbank grape is a woody wild grape vine climbing to 75 feet by means of tendrils. It occurs nearly statewide but is absent from most of the Ozark plateau.

Sand grape is a bushy, sprawling, or trailing woody vine found along rocky streambeds or gravel bars. It rarely climbs but may reach a length of 8 feet. It lacks tendrils.

Eight species of grapes in the genus Vitis are native or naturalized in Missouri. All bear edible fruits. Like their relatives elsewhere, they have important connections to humans and to nature.

Ladies’ eardrops is a perennial, tendril-climbing woody vine to 40 feet, with green to reddish-brown stems, and curious pink, pendant fruits. In Missouri, it is found in the Bootheel.

Woolly pipe-vine is a high-climbing woody vine common along streams in the Ozarks. Hikers and canoeists often don’t notice it because the leaves and unusual flowers are usually high overhead in the trees.

Carolina moonseed is a slender, twining vine. It is scattered in southern and eastern Missouri. It bears clusters of bright red, somewhat flattened fruits. The disk-shaped seeds are spiraled like a snail shell.