Vitis riparia Michx, with
common names riverbank grape or
frost grape, is a native
American climbing or trailing
vine, widely distributed across central and eastern
Canada and the central and northeastern Parts of the
United States, from
Quebec to
Texas, and eastern
Montana to
Nova Scotia. There are reports of isolated populations in the northwestern USA, but these are probably naturalized. It is long-lived and capable of reaching into the upper
canopy of the tallest
trees. It produces dark fruit that are appealing to both birds and people, and has been used extensively in commercial viticulture as
grafted rootstock and in
hybrid grape breeding programs.