The origin of the grapevine lies in Transcaucasia, according to the latest research in Turkish south-east Anatolia near the biblical mountain Ararat. As with most useful plants, there are many varieties of grapevine, which are called cultivars. The morphological description is given under the heading vine. The science of describing grapevine varieties is called ampelography (grapevine varietal science). Botanical taxonomy (hierarchical systematics based on relationships) is described under vine systematics. Over thousands of years, thousands of new grapevine varieties have been created through spontaneous (natural) crossing and sowing, random mutations and, from the 19th century onwards, also through targeted new breeding. Primarily, they always originate from fertilised seeds that have reached the soil or from targeted seed sowing, i.e. they are the products of generative (sexual) reproduction.
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