Grapes are such a fun, juicy fruit that it’s no wonder many gardeners seek out plants with a similar grape-like appearance Certain flowers and foliage replicate the orb shapes, sizes, and cluster formations of actual grapes. Adding these imposter plants creates intrigue and whimsy in your garden
In this article, we look at 10 great options for plants that look like grapes. Ranging from groundcovers to vines to shrubs, these selections let you enjoy grape aesthetics without the need for a vineyard!
Boston Ivy
Boston ivy is a fast-growing creeping vine that attaches itself to structures using aerial roots. It has lobed leaves with toothed edges similar to grape vine leaves. The leaves may be red when they first emerge in some cultivars. Most Boston ivy cultivars have beautiful fall colors as the leaves change from green to orange and red. Small greenish-white flowers bloom in late spring followed by inedible dark berries. With its grape-like foliage Boston ivy is excellent for growing up walls and structures.
Passion Fruit Vine
Passion fruit vine is an evergreen climber that produces edible passion fruit. Its shiny lobed leaves resemble those of grape vines. Passion fruit vines use tendrils to climb structures and can grow over 15 feet long in a season. Showy purple and white flowers bloom in summer and develop into yellow or dark purple passion fruits. Give passion fruit vines a sturdy trellis or arbor in warm climates to enjoy their grape-like foliage and delicious fruit.
Porcelain Berry
Sometimes called wild grape vine, porcelain berry is often mistaken for regular grape vines. A member of the grape family, its lobed leaves have similar shapes and tooth patterns as grape leaves. Porcelain berry climbs by tendrils and reaches up to 20 feet long. Its stems and leaves can be variously colored, with some types having pink, white, and purple mottling. Small berries in diverse colors form after flowering. An invasive species in some areas, porcelain berry is nonetheless loved for its grape-esque appeal.
Crimson Glory Vine
Crimson glory vine is a gorgeous ornamental grape relative that covers structures with its large, lobed foliage. It displays intense red and orange fall color. Crimson glory vine can grow up to 50 feet long but does not cling using tendrils like grape vines. It must be manually attached to structures. Its long stems bear insignificant green flowers followed by small black berries. For dramatic grape-like leaves, plant crimson glory vine to ramble over arbors, fences, and garden walls.
Fox Grape
Indigenous to the Midwest, fox grape is a wild grape species found growing in wooded areas. Like cultivated grapes, it develops woody stems and loses its leaves in winter Fox grape has characteristic lobed, toothed leaves that resemble domesticated grape varieties. Clusters of small flowers give way to edible purple-black grapes that ripen in late summer. If left on the vine, the grapes shrivel into sweet, tasty raisins. Fox grape can be grown at home on a trellis or arbor if ample space is available.
Muscadine Grape
Muscadine grape is a unique grape species native to the southeastern United States. Its large, round leaves unfurl in a bronze color before turning green. Muscadine grapes produce juicy bronze berries in summer perfect for making wine, jam, and eating fresh. As a bonus, muscadine grape foliage gives a tropical, grape-like look to any garden. Plant it on a sturdy structure to highlight its bold tropical leaves and fruit.
Grapesleaf Ivy
With leaves that resemble mini green grapes, grapesleaf ivy is aptly named. This trailing houseplant has ivy-shaped, lobed leaves that grow in appealing grape-like clusters along its stems. An adaptable vine, grapesleaf ivy tolerates low light and is ideal displayed in hanging baskets or climbing up a mossy pole. Its shiny grape-patterned foliage adds whimsy and texture indoors.
Grape Hyacinth
A spring flowering bulb, grape hyacinth produces a bloom stalk densely packed with tiny bell flowers resembling juicy blue grapes. ‘Valerie Finnis’ is a popular white cultivar. Grape hyacinth naturalizes easily, spreading into large drifts. Underplant it with daffodils and tulips for a colorful spring display. Its cute clustered flowers mimic bunches of grapes.
Black Mondo Grass
With plump deep purple bloom spikes, black mondo grass looks amazingly like tiny grapes arising from grassy clumps. Mondo grass spreads slowly, making a lush groundcover or accent plant. Use black mondo grass as edging or in containers to showcase its orb-like purple flower heads and striking color. Its blooms provide fun grape interest against green foliage.
String of Pearls
A unique cascading succulent, string of pearls has spherical leaves packed along dangling stems resembling strands of grapes. As a houseplant, string of pearls needs bright light to maintain its plump grape shape and color. Grown in hanging baskets and planters, string of pearls makes a gorgeous trailing accent plant indoors or out. Its abundant pea-like foliage provides beautiful grape appeal.
There are so many options for unique plants that mimic the shape, size, colors, and growth habit of delicious grapes. Take your pick from vines, groundcovers, bulbs, grasses, and houseplants to add grape charm to your indoor and outdoor spaces. With their lush foliage, trailing stems, and abundant fruit-like blooms, grape lookalikes allow you to capture grape beauty without the work of maintaining a vineyard. Get creative and enjoy crafting a landscape abundant with grape flair.
Vitis riparia (Riverbank Grape)
| Also known as: | Wild Grape, Frost Grape |
|---|---|
| Genus: | Vitis |
| Family: | Vitaceae (Grape) |
| Life cycle: | perennial woody |
| Origin: | native |
| Habitat: | part shade, sun; average to moist soil; riverbanks, floodplain forest, wooded swamps, fence rows, woodland edges |
| Bloom season: | May – June |
| Plant height: | vine to 75 ft |
| Wetland Indicator Status: | GP: FAC MW: FACW NCNE: FAC |
| MN county distribution (click map to enlarge): | |
| National distribution (click map to enlarge): |
Pick an for a larger view. See the glossary for icon descriptions.
Branching cylindric to pyramidal clusters up to 5 inches long opposite the leaves of this years new branches, usually skipping every third leaf. Separate male and female flowers are typically on the same plant, mixed in a cluster or separate, both 1/8 inch across or less with 5 green to yellowish petals that drop off early. Male flowers have 5 long, pale, erect to ascending stamens around a tiny button center. Female flowers have a short, stubby style and 5 short stamens that are usually sterile and somewhat contorted. The calyx cupping the flower is minute; the calyx and flower stalks are hairless. Flowers are very fragrant.
Leaves are 4 to 8 inches long and nearly as wide, mostly broadly heart-shaped in outline, shallowly to deeply lobed with (usually) 3 major lobes and a broad gap between the 2 basal lobes. Edges are hairy and sharply toothed.
Young leaves are often yellowish, shiny, and covered in cobwebby hairs that disappear as they mature, the upper surface becoming hairless and green, the lower somewhat paler in color and hairy along major veins. Leaf stalks are up to 3 inches long, often reddish, and variously hairy or smooth.
New branches are yellowish-green to reddish and smooth except for a few cobwebby hairs at the nodes, and sometimes have a waxy bloom. Forked tendrils develop opposite the leaves on first year branches and become woody with age. Older bark is brown and shredding, peeling in long strips. A mature plant may have a trunk as much as 8 inches in diameter at breast height (dbh) though 2 or 3 inches is more common.
The flower clusters become dangling as fruit develops. Fruit is a round berry ¼ to ½ inch in diameter, ripens from green to blue-black, and is covered in a white bloom. Inside a berry is one to 6 slightly flattened, egg-shaped seeds. Berries are often sour until after a frost, then turn more sweet-tart.
Some consider Riverbank Grape a weedy pest, sometimes creating dense masses and smothering other plants and even small trees. Though it can become aggressive along woodland edges and other disturbed areas where seed is spread, it is typically better behaved in the shadier riverbanks and mature forests where it competes well with other forest species. It is an important food source and cover for insects, birds and other wildlife, and galls may sometimes be found on the backs of leaves or along the stems. Invasive Japanese beetles like it as well, devouring the leaves and causing severe damage. Riverbank Grape is a pretty distinct species in Minnesota, only the related Summer Grape (Vitis aestivalis) is really similar: the underside of its leaves has a whitish, waxy bloom and reddish-brown, cobwebby hairs, and it has a limited range of a few southeast counties, where Riverbank Grape is found across the state. The fruit of Moonseed (Menispermum canadense) is very similar, and is poisonous, but its leaves are not toothed and the fruit has a single crescent-shaped seed inside, where Riverbank Grape has multiple egg-shaped seeds. If youre not sure, check before you eat!
How to Grow Grapes, Complete Growing Guide
FAQ
Is there a plant that looks like grapes?
Likely you were actually observing porcelain-berry (Ampelopsis brevipedunculata), a non-native lookalike that is easily mistaken for grapevine. In fact, porcelain-berry is also a member of the grape family (Vitaceae) but is native to Asia.
Are there any poisonous plants that look like grapes?
The Canada moonseed (Menispermum canadense) is a climbing vine with grape-like leaves and clusters of grapey-looking fruits. These fruits are not grapes however, and are potentially fatal if eaten. To tell these look-a-likes apart, check the fruit seeds.
What looks like grapes but isn’t?
They’re muscadines. Pretty yummy, and makes a great wine! 🙂
Are muscadine grapes edible?
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Edible:Muscadine grapes are a type of grape native to the southern United States and are known for their thick skin and a range of flavors, from sweet to tart.
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Nutritional Value:Muscadine grapes are a good source of vitamins, antioxidants, and fiber.
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Eating the whole fruit:While some people prefer to remove the skin and seeds, the entire fruit, including the skin and seeds, is edible and can be consumed for the greatest nutritional benefit.
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How to eat:You can pop the whole grape in your mouth, chew the skin to extract more juice, and then either swallow the pulp and seeds together or work the seeds out with your tongue and spit them out.
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Allergies:Some people may experience an oral allergy syndrome (OAS) or mouth itch from muscadines, which is a cross-reaction between these foods and certain pollens.
What is a vine that resembles a grapevine?
A vine that resembles a grapevine is probably a member of one of the 12 genera of the grape family (Vitaceae). All are woody vines that climb by means of tendrils. The leaves generally alternate on the stems, and the small grape flowers look like tiny bunches of grapes and are borne in clusters.
What plants look like grapes?
Use green, purple, and cream variegated plants like coral bells, laceleaf Japanese maples, and Pikes Peak purple clematis to mimic lush grape foliage. Building a mock vineyard or wine inspired landscape is a creative way to incorporate grape look-alike plants.
What does a grape vine look like?
Grape vines have woody stems that thicken and become gnarled with age. Initially, the stem is green in a young plant, but as the vine matures, the stem becomes brown with a tough outer layer. Tendrils fasten the grape vine onto a supporting structure such as a tree, pole, or trellis. Grape vines have leaves with three to five lobes.
Is a grape vine a tree or a plant?
All are perennial, woody vines that are deciduous. Grape vines grow thicker and higher than most other native vines. The wild grape vine climbs very well due to forking tendrils. (These are narrow branches that grasp by coiling themselves around anything they can.) Grape tendrils most often are found growing from a stalk opposite from a leaf.
What does a wild grape vine taste like?
(Grape vine leaves taste like grapes.) The wild grape vine is truly a vining plant; this means it has no solid, upright trunk. This climbing, multi-stemmed vine can grow so well it can totally envelop bushes and trees. Although the wild grape vine is also known as the riverbank grape, it grows well in locations other than riverbanks.
Which vine produces more grapes?
Grapevines with strong root systems produce more grapes. Getty A vine that resembles a grapevine is probably a member of one of the 12 genera of the grape family (Vitaceae). All are woody vines that climb by means of tendrils.