About Vitis girdiana Munson
Vitis girdiana Munson is a species of wild grape with common names including desert wild grape, coyote grape, and valley grape. It is native to southern California in the United States and Baja California in Mexico. This is a woody vine covered in a coating of woolly hairs, with particularly dense hair coverage on new growth. Its woolly leaves are shaped from heart-shaped to kidney-shaped, with toothed edges, and sometimes have shallow lobes. The inflorescence is a panicle that holds unisexual flowers. The fruit is a spherical black grape, usually no wider than 8 millimeters. It grows in canyon and streambank habitats located in the hills and mountains of its native range. Various Native American groups used the fruit and seeds of this plant. The Kumeyaay ate the fruit fresh, dried it into raisins, or cooked it; they also rubbed its sap on thinning or falling hair to improve hair health and promote growth. The Luiseño, who call this plant Makwit, cooked its fruit for food. The Cahuilla used the fruit fresh, cooked, dried into raisins, and also processed it into wine.
