Vitis silvestrii (known locally ashu bei pu tao, which meansHubei grape[2]) is a species ofpolygamo-dioecious plant in thegrape family native to theforested slopes of westernHubei and southernShaanxi inChina from 300 to 1200 meters above sea level. Itsflowers appear in May, males having abortivepistils[2]
Vitis silvestrii should not be confused with the very similarly namedV. sylvestrisBartram[3] (Eurasian wild grape), which somebotanists andtaxonomists believe to besynonymous withV. vinifera ssp.silvestris, thedioecious, ancestral form ofV. vinifera.[4] The namesilvestrii was chosen to honor the Reverend, or Père, C. Silvestri, an Italian collector of plants specializing inphanerogams,[5] and the collector of this species (on July 3, 1907).[1]
^"Collector, C. Silvestri". RetrievedMay 23, 2010.C. Silvestri ~ Dates fl.: ca. 1905-1913 ~ Specialties: Phanerogams ~ Countries: Italy, China ~ Member of: G. Giraldi & C. Silvestri ~ Note: Hupeh [Hubei] (col. ±1910-1912): A (280), E, FI (orig.), W (175 phan.)
