September 24. Spent this day with Mr. Prater sailing on the Chattahoochee, feasting on grapes that had dropped from the overhanging vines. This remarkable species of wild grape has a stout stem, sometimes five or six inches in diameter, smooth bark and hard wood, quite unlike any other wild or cultivated grapevine that I have seen. The grapes are very large, some of them nearly an inch in diameter, globular and fine flavored. Usually there are but three or four berries in a cluster, and when mature they drop off instead of decaying on the vine. Those which fall into the river are often found in large quantities in the eddies along the bank, where they are collected by men in boats and sometimes made into wine. I think another name for this grape is the Scuppernong, though called “muscadine” here.
Muir adds in a footnote…
The old Indian name for the southern species of fox-grape, Vitis rotundifolia, which Muir describes here. Wood’s Botany listed it as Vitis vulpina L. and remarks, “The variety called ‘Scuppernong’ is quite common in southern gardens.”
Muscadines, scuppernongs, & bullaces
It’s that time of year again – time for our iconic southern muscadine grapes to produce their green, purple, black, and golden fruits. Beyond picking them for table grapes, or “eating grapes” as we call them, Muscadine is a staple of jelly-makers and wine-makers all over the area. Several years ago I purchased five vitis…
Paddling Lake Tangipahoa
Recently I re-read Ernest Herndon’s classic 2001 travelogue/guidebook, Canoeing Mississippi, and it has reignited my interest in paddling. In his book, Herndon discusses the ins and outs, the pros and cons, of every navigable waterway in the state, complete with a healthy dose of bucolic anecdotes about his experiences on these rivers, creeks, and streams. …
Categories: Canoeing, Food, Nature, Uncategorized
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