medicinal herbs
Amur River Grape
Vitis amurensis

• Medicinal herbs
• Natural herbs
• Latin names
• Common names

Herb: Amur River Grape

Latin name: Vitis amurensis

Family: Vitaceae (Grape Family)

Medicinal use of Amur River Grape:

The root is tonic.

Description of the plant:

Habitat of the herb:

Rich damp woodland soils.

Edible parts of Amur River Grape:

Fruit - raw, cooked or dried for winter use. It can also be made into drinks. The fruit is much esteemed. Small and somewhat harsh in flavour, it is succulent but usually bitter. The fruit is about 16mm long and 10mm wide. Young leaves - cooked. Used as a boiled vegetable. The leaves can also be wrapped around other foods and then baked, they impart a pleasant flavour. Young tendrils - raw or cooked.

Other uses of the herb:

A yellow dye is obtained from the fresh or dried leaves.

Propagation of Amur River Grape:

Seed - best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe. Six weeks cold stratification improves the germination rate, and so stored seed is best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is obtained. Germination should take place in the first spring, but sometimes takes another 12 months. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in a cold frame for their first winter. Plant out in early summer. Cuttings of mature wood of the current seasons growth, December/January in a frame. These cuttings can be of wood 15 - 30cm long or they can be of short sections of the stem about 5cm long with just one bud at the top of the section. In this case a thin, narrow strip of the bark about 3cm long is removed from the bottom half of the side of the stem. This will encourage callusing and the formation of roots. Due to the size of these cuttings they need to be kept in a more protected environment than the longer cuttings. Layering.

Cultivation of the herb:

Rich damp woodland soils.

Known hazards of Vitis amurensis:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.