Vitis caribaea
DC.
Caribean grape
(c) Omar Monzon Carmona, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
(c) Omar Monzon Carmona, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
(c) Ignacio Torres-García, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
What to Eat
Edible parts: Fruit
Vitis tiliifolia is grown as a forest crop in Mayan agriculture, and is used for food or drink, or as an ingredient in medicines. The vine is most commonly dioecious, with separate male and female vines, though wild hermafrodite vines have been found. Flowering is usually at the beginning of the dry season (December in the northern hemisphere) and fruit production can be up to 20 kg per vine in cultivation. The fruits are small and acid with low sugar near 8 Brix but are sometimes made into wine resembling that of the Norton grape of the east and central USA. In cultivation the vines are vigorous similar to the Muscadine grape and should be given ample trellis room of near 6 meters or 20 feet. V. tiliifolia can and should be pruned and can be propagated from cuttings just like other grapes.
Dangerous Lookalikes
This plant can be confused with the following toxic species. Always verify identification carefully before consuming any wild plant.
Canadian Moonseed: No tendrils, single crescent/moon-shaped seed, leaf stem attaches to underside of leaf.
Caribean grape: Vine with tendrils, round seeds, leaf stem at edge of leaf, bark that peels.
Where to Find It
It is a tropical plant.
Britain, Central America, Cuba, Europe, Jamaica, Mexico, North America, USA, West Indies,
How to Identify
A tropical vine in the Vitaceae family native to the Caribbean region, bearing edible fruit.
References (4)
- Hedrick, U.P., 1919, (Ed.), Sturtevant's edible plants of the world. p 682
- Kermath, B. M., et al, 2014, Food Plants in the Americas: A survey of the domesticated, cultivated and wild plants used for Human food in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. On line draft. p 921
- Miguel, E., et al, 1989, A checklist of the cultivated plants of Cuba. Kulturpflanze 37. 1989, 211-357
- Prodr. 1:634. 1824
