Florida Agricultural Experiment Station


located near main highways dispose of all or part of their crop
on roadside stands. A small percent of the crop is made into
grape juice or utilized in the home for making various culinary
products, such as jelly, jam, marmalade and butter.

 MUSCADINE TYPE
 The muscadine or Rotundifolia grapes, which include two
 botanical species, are native to the South Atlantic and Gulf
 states. Of these, Vitis rotundifolia Michx. is by far the more
 important species, of which the Scuppernong is the best known
 variety. This was the first native species to be domesticated
 by early Colonial settlers. It has long been famous throughout
 the South for its fruit and for wine making, and is the type
 commonly seen growing on arbors in dooryard gardens through-
 out this area. Several other varieties belonging to this group
 are grown in Florida.
 In a general way the information previously given for the
 American bunch type of grapes relative to location of the vine-
 yard, preparation of the soil, cultivation and cover cropping
 would apply equally well to the muscadine or Rotundifolia vari-
 eties with the exception that, where the vines are trained on
 an overhead arbor, usually no cultivation is given.
 BOTANY
 The muscadine group is composed of two species: Vitis rotun-
 difolia Michx., which is native to the South Atlantic and Gulf
 states, extending well down into peninsular Florida, and V.
 Munsoniana Simpson, which has as its native habitat south
 Georgia, peninsular Florida, the Florida Keys, and the borders
 of the Gulf of Mexico. In the classification given by Bailey (2)
 these two species comprise the Muscadinia group of the genus
 Vitis, while Small (11) has separated this group as a genus.
 The principal differences separating this group from the
 American bunch type are that most varieties drop their fruit
 from the vine when ripe, the fruit does not grow in distinct
 bunches, and the tendrils are simple rather than branched or
 forked. In addition, the pith is continuous through the nodes,
 the bark adheres closely on young branches-is not shreddy-
 and the seeds are flattened with transverse wrinkles on the
 sides.
 V. rotundifolia Michx., from which practically all varieties
now in cultivation were derived, is a dioecious species. That is,