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Euvitis

Vine subgenus (Vitis subg. Euvitis); see under vine systematics.

The Swedish botanist Carl von Linné (1707-1778) developed the foundations of modern taxonomy and introduced the concept of species to biological systematics. In his two-volume work "Species Plantarum", published in 1753, he described all the plants known to him on 1,200 pages with around 7,300 species. Among other things, the plant genus Vitis(grapevine) was described here for the first time. Together with the work "Systema Naturæ", published in 1758, this established the scientific nomenclature in botany and zoology that is still used today.

Carl von Linne - Index Systema Naturae

However, Linne's classification system did not yet include all the categories and levels used today. However, these are not always used for all plants or animals. The respective use simply depends on how complex the respective units are. The three main categories almost always mentioned in specialised sources are family-genus-species. Each category can be broken down into "subcategories" (subspecies). Similarly, a "superdivision" can be created as the last sublevel of a main category, which then stands above the next main category (superdiviso).

Systematics of the grapevine

There are various systems, some with different classifications and designations. The German Professor Dr Bernhard Husfeld (1900-1970), the director of the Geilweilerhof Institute (Siebeldingen-Pfalz), created a widely recognised classification system. Another was developed in 1967 by the French ampelographer Pierre Galet (1921-2019). Prof. Dr Manfred A. Fischer (Department of Botanical Systematics and Evolutionary Research, Faculty of Life Sciences at the University of Vienna, Austria) provided valuable information for the systematics presented here.

Stage

Lat. ref.

Vine - Explanations

Domain - Eukarya (organisms with a true nucleus)
kingdom regnum Chlorobionta (chlorophyll plants) or Viridiplantae
subkingdom subregnum Archegoniatae (Archegonium plants) or Embryophyta
superdivision superdiviso Tracheophyta (vascular plants)
division diviso Spermatophyta (seed plants)
subdivision subdiviso Angiospermophytina (angiosperms)
class classis Rosopsida (trifurcate pollen dicotyledons)
subclass subclassis Rosidae (rose plants)
order ordo Vitales (vines)
family familia Vitaceae (grapevine family)
genus genus Vitis (grapevine)
there are 13 others, but only Vitis is suitable for viticulture
subgenus subgenus Vitis subg. Euvitis - comprises around 60 species
Vitis subg. Muscadinia - comprises 2 to 3 species
Species species Vitis vinifera - only 1 species with two (three) subspecies
Vitis abcdef - around 30 species - Asian varieties
Vitis abcdef - around 30 species - American varieties
subspecies subspecies Vitis vinifera subsp. sylvestris (European wild grapevine)
Vitis vinifera subsp. caucasica (Caucasian wild grapevine)
Vitis vinifera subsp. vinifera (noble vine) - European varieties
Variety varietas is reserved for wild vine populations (not cultivated vines)
form forma is reserved for wild vine populations (not cultivated vines)
Variety/Cultivar - Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling, Traminer - 3 out of around 10,000

Historical development

The genus Vitis is probably over 130 million years old, the grape-bearing variety Vitis vinifera probably over 80 million years old (dinosaurs were still around at the time). For 79.99 million years, the vine was dioecious, meaning that male and female organs were arranged on separate plants. It is only in the last 10,000 years or so that humans have selected the hermaphroditic varieties due to their incomparably higher yield security and introduced them into cultivation. The hermaphrodite flower form therefore only corresponds to the last milliseconds of vine evolution, so to speak. However, this also means that...

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