Page:Ornithological biography, or an account of the habits of the birds of the United States of America, vol 2.djvu/116

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Vitis Æstivalis, Mich. Flor. Amer. vol. ii. p. 230.—Pursh, Flor. Amer. Sept. vol i. p. 169.—Pentandria Monogtnia, Linn. Vites, Juss.

The Racoon Grape is characterized by its broadly-cordate leaves, which have three or five lobes, its oblong clusters, and the small size of the bluishblack fruit. It is one of the finest of our vines, in regard to the luxuriancei of its growth, its tortuous stem ascending the tallest trees to their summit, while its branches spread out so as to entwine the whole top. I have seen stems that measured eighteen inches in diameter, and the branches often extended from one tree to another, so as to render it difficult to pull down a plant after its stem has been cut. Its flowers perfume the woods. The grapes are small, hard, and very acrid, until severely bitten by frost. In autumn and winter, racoons, bears, opossums, and many species of birds, feed upon them.