Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus
quinquefolia). Some of the brightest and
purest reds in the fall come from Virginia Creeper, or
Woodbine. It is a beautiful vine all summer, but when
its glossy dark green leaves turn fiery red in fall,
it can light up whole tree trunks in the woods. The five
leaflets are distinctive (and give the vine its
species name quinquefolia); no other woody
vine in our area has leaves like these.
Vitis aestivalis
Vitis riparia
Frost Grape (Vitis vulpina).
These are the grape vines that take over whole lots
and smother large trees. When they get to
tree-smothering size, they produce thousands of these
little grapes, which are intensely flavorful and quite
tart. They sweeten a bit after a frost. The grapes
hang on into the winter; these were hanging on a huge
vine in Beechview in late November. Below, a typically
monstrous mound of Frost Grapes on the South Side
Slopes.