All plants /Vine /Muscadine Grape
Muscadine Grape
Vitis rotundifolia, grape family. Common in East Texas.
At a glance
- What
- Large thick-skinned grapes
- How
- Raw, juice, jelly, wine
- When
- Late summer into fall
- Where
- East Texas woods, climbing high into trees
- Value
- Sugars, antioxidants
Caution: No toxic look-alikes when the fruit is present, but confirm the plant before eating any wild grape relative. Never eat a wild plant on this guide's word alone. Confirm identity against several sources and learn the look-alikes first.
Harvesting
Muscadines hang high; the ripe ones drop, so check the ground under a loaded vine in September. Pop the sweet pulp from the tough skin with your teeth.
In the kitchen
The famous Southern grape: heavy, musky, and sweet. Cook the skins with the pulp for jelly the color of garnet.
Photo: Bob Peterson from North Palm Beach, Florida, Planet Earth!, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Forages well with
Forage safely. Never eat a wild plant on this site's word alone. Confirm identity with several sources, learn the look-alikes, and when in doubt, leave it in the ground.