What Is This Thing? Thought Grape By The Leaves, Then "Fruit" (NEW PICS post 13)

[speckledhen]

We got this vine from a muscadine vineyard that was being bulldozed for a subdivision many years ago. The leaves were a little different than the muscadines, which produce yearly now, but at the time, it seemed like maybe just a different type grape. For the first time in over 10 years, it has "fruit" on it, but this isn't a grape. It's roughly tear-shaped. What is this vine?

Click to enlarge

 

[goldfinches]

Could it be kiwi vine?

 

[nurse_turtle]

Looks like a gourd vine. I would say passionfruit but the leaves are wrong. The leaves are also wrong for kiwi. It's certainly not a grape of any kind due to the lack of bunches.

 

[speckledhen]

It sure is puzzling. I hope someone can say for sure. It doesn't seem to be anything edible. The "fruit" is really hard.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Looks like a muscadine vine and fruit to me. They don't bear fruit in bunches the way table grape varieties do. They are a different species with different characteristics. Those fruit are not yet ripe so they should swell and soften as they approach maturity. I can probably find some that look just like those on my vines right now.

 

[speckledhen]

I don't think so, even though the leaves seemed right, but slightly different from the other one. The other one next to it that we got from the same vineyard is definitely a grape, I think a muscadine. Here it is--see how round they are? Now, maybe I'm wrong and these are scuppernong, not muscadine? They make huge dark purple thick skinned grapes, though they are far from ripe yet.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Scuppernongs are Muscadines. Just a particular variety of them. There are many, many Muscadine varieties and they can have some slight differences in leaf shapes, berry clusters, and so on.

Try to get a clearer photo of the leaves that particular cluster of grapes is attached to. I believe that one may be the "Southern Home" variety. If so it is a complex Muscadine hybrid with some other grape species. I have one. Very prolific and I like them a lot.

Here is some further info on the variety: http://www.caes.uga.edu/commodities/fruits/muscadines/cultivars/southern_home/southern_home.html

 

[speckledhen]

Oh, okay. Yeah, my camera was giving me fits yesterday, not wanting to focus right. I'll try for a better pic today. Thank you for the input!



Grrr, this camera is making me so angry! I think these are slightly better pics, but it just won't focus properly.

Click to Enlarge





This is the one that started producing a few years ago, finally, and I was sure was muscadine. My grandfather had a huge square grape arbor with what my dad called "Scuppanines", obviously scuppernongs, but I didn't pay attention except to play underneath it and drink the grape juice they canned.

 

[the1much]

lol,, looks like an olive.. whos gonna taste test it??

 

[speckledhen]

Sure is shaped like an olive, isn't it, Jim?