What is Kudzu?
Kudzu (Pueraria montana) is a member of the bean family which has been called ‘The Vine That Ate the South.’ Kudzu vines have been known to grow a foot a day during the summer months, choking out nutrients and sunlight to neighboring trees and plants. Thousands of acres of land in the Southeastern United States have been overrun by kudzu since its first importation in 1876. The kudzu plant is native to China and Japan, where it is used for medicinal teas, animal feed and a folk remedy for alcoholism. In 1876, representatives from Japan brought kudzu to the United States Centennial celebration held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Kudzu was used as part of a larger exhibition of flowering Japanese plants. The plant caught the eye of a Florida-based plant nursery owner, who took samples of kudzu back home for further study. Soon afterwards, Southern gardeners began to plant kudzu as a protective ground cover and decorative foliage in gardens. During the Depression, the US government hired
Its an amazing plant. So amazing that some say its an alien species. The Japanese love it, but it grows normal in Japan. In the American South its a predator. It grows more than 7 feet (more than 2 meters) meters a week. Almost nothing stops it. It takes 10 to 15 years to control a Kudzu patch – even with chemicals. Effective herbicides (such as napalm and agent orange) often destroy the soil. Of 12 known herbicides, 10 have no effect, and 2 make it grow better. Its covers more than 2.8 million square km of the American South. If it were not for winter, there would only be 40 American states. Patches often are 6+ miles (10+ kilometers) long. Its even been called “The vegetable form of cancer”. Really, what is it? Kudzu (Pueraria lobata) was brought to the United States in 1876 for a Japanese Exposition in Philadelphia, and basically “escaped”. In Japan it generally grows like a normal plant, however the American South is a perfect climate for it. Introducing Kudzu was like introducing
