Open AccessThe shapes of wine and table grape leaves: An ampelometric study inspired by the methods of Pierre Galet
Author(s) -
Chitwood Daniel H.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
plants, people, planet
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2572-2611
DOI - 10.1002/ppp3.10157
Subject(s) - vitis vinifera , vine , similarity (geometry) , identification (biology) , table grape , mathematics , biology , artificial intelligence , botany , computer science , image (mathematics)
Leaf shapes are critical to the identification of grapevine varieties. Historically, measures of grapevine leaves were used to enforce appellation law and leaf shape is used to this day to distinguish economically important clones that genetic analyses fail to discriminate. The ampelometry (“vine” + “process of measuring”) of Pierre Galet (1921‐2019), through quantitative measurements and hand‐drawings, illuminated the beauty of grapevine diversity to the world. Here, mathematical methods rigorously quantifying hand‐drawings of grapevine leaves are presented, with implications for how we document and preserve the stunning diversity of plants we so readily see with our eyes.