Vitis vulpina
Frost Grape, winter grape, fox grape
Description: herbaceous perennial vine
Place of origin: eastern North America
Urban habitat: commonly found in vacant lots, waste areas, roadsides, pavement openings, neglected parks and landscaped areas.
Ecological function: disturbance-adapted colonizer; food and habitat for wildlife.
History: Native to the eastern US, Vitis vulpine is currently considered endangered in New York. The vine is a graft stock relative used in the cultivation of wine grape. It fruit is edible, consumed fresh, dried, drank as a beverage, or cooked to make sauce and jelly. Its fruit has been used medicinally in the treatment of bruises, eye ailments, and sprains. Native American tribes used its fruit and leaves medicinally for treatment of diarrhea, stomachache, urinary problems, eye, blood, liver, kidneys ailments, rheumatism, diabetes, psychological ailments, anemia, dermatological problems and gynecological purposes.