This will be interesting to many
Californians and others on the Medit Plant Forum.
Susan Bouchez
To solve a great California plant mystery, Roger Raiche has
been trying for
years to get a full study of the genetics of Vitus californica 'Roger's
Red'. Below is an email sent to the California Native Plants email group
from Roger on his final success.
Hi,
I just got off the phone with Jerry Dangl, a researcher at the
Plant Services department at UC Davis, and he has finally resolved the
origin of the 'Roger's Red' selection, once thought to be the native grape,
Vitis californica. Indeed, as many suspected, it is not pure Vitis
californica. His DNA analysis shows that it is a first generation hybrid
(F1) between the native V. californica and a wine grape (Vitis vinifera)
cultivar known as 'Alicante Bouschet'. This grape, 'Alicante Bouchet', is
unusual in that it has both red skin and red flesh - most red grapes and red
wine gets its color from the skin only.
Jerry Dangl, plans on doing some more analysis before officially
releasing his findings, and probably the two of us will produce a short
article intended for either or both Pacific Horticulture magazine and
Fremontia (the journal of the California Native Plant Society). But I
wanted to get the word out to those who grow or propagate this vine (Roger's
Red), as many of you have been asking for years what the 'story" was on
this
selection. This selection has been grown and sold now for nearly 25 years,
with the assumption that it was an aberrant fall leaf color form of the
native grape, and probably thousands have been planted in yards, etc.
throughout the state and beyond. This email is just the initial attempt at
correcting this naming error.
However, the upside is that it is half native, and not a fully
European grape selection that seeded into the wild. And for those who don't
care if their grape is 100% native or not, it is still the same beautiful
and fruitful selection that it was yesterday. However, in the future, it
should never be sold as Vitis californica, as it is a hybrid grape. Those
of you on this list who are connected with botanical, horticultural or
nursery institutions, should take a moment to correct your records to
reflect this new information.
I do apologize for my initial mis-identification error,
especially to those who strive to have a completely native
landscape/garden. However, I have received so many letters and comments from
folks who have been thrilled by this grape and the joy it has brought them,
their families, their neighbors and their wildlife, that I don't actually
feel that bad about making this selection. Further, I myself questioned the
full nativity of this plant as far back as 1990, but was not able to get the
Botanical Garden to move on certifying its identity. But that is all
"water
under the bridge", and at least now we have the correct identity of this
vine.
Best,
Roger Raiche
