California Wild Grape
Vitis californica
California wild grape is a robust riparian vine celebrated for its blazing crimson and gold fall color, with small sweet-tart grapes for birds and people. Drought-tolerant once established; vigorous enough for arbors and screening. The small, tart-sweet grapes are traditional food raw, cooked, dried, or made into jelly; young leaves wrapped around other foods add flavor while baking, and the sour young tendrils make a tangy trailside snack.
- Family
- Vitaceae
- Type
- vine
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 15–30 ft
- Spacing
- 10–20 ft apart
- Light
- sun
- Soil moisture
- moist
- Soil pH
- neutral, acidic, alkaline
- Bloom
- May, June
- Bloom colors
- yellow, green
- Wildlife value
- pollinators, songbirds, larval host, mammals
- Caterpillar hosts
- ~79 butterfly & moth species
- Landscape uses
- groundcover, erosion control
- Native states
- CA, OR