Pueraria montana (Lour.) Merr. var. lobata (Bertol.) Maesen & S.M. Almeida ex Sanjappa & Predeep

Kudzu

Vine

Perennial

Vascular

Kudzu is an introduced twining semi-woody perennial vine in the Bean family (Fabaceae). It is native to China, Korea, and Japan. Kudzu occurs throughout Alabama on roadsides, along railroad tracks, around the margins of fields and pastures, in disturbed woodlands, and in urban woodlots. It is a perennial from hardened root crowns. Prostrate stems produce roots from each node, and these can develop into new crowns. The taproots form large, starchy underground tubers weighing up to 400 pounds. Young stems are green and hairy. Older stems have dark, corky bark. Leaves are alternate, petiolate, deciduous, and pinnately trifoliate. Each leaflet is ovate to orbicular and unlobed to deeply 1-3 lobed. The leaves are dark green above and gray-green and pubescent below. Fragrant flowers are produced in erect or drooping racemes from the axils of the leaves on climbing stems. The flowers have the odor of grape Kool Aid. Individual flowers are papilionaceous, purple (rarely white or pink) in color, with a yellow blotch at the base of the standard petal. The fruit is a pubescent legume with 2-5 seed. Kudzu is widely known as “the vine that ate the South”. It is a noxious weed that smothers native vegetation. Kudzu arrived in the United States in 1876 as a display at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. Kudzu It was later displayed in 1883 at the New Orleans Exposition. During the 1920’s-40’s kudzu was widely promoted for forage and for erosion control. Farmers throughout the South were paid to plant it during the Great Depression, and it was sold as “Poarch Vine” for fast shade and screens. It has the ability to fix nitrogen and enrich the soil, and is edible and medicinal. However, its fast growth (up to 1 foot per day and over 100 feet during a growing season) allowed it to quickly get out of control. Eradicating kudzu is a multi-year process and most reproduction is vegetative. Kudzu is listed as a Category 1 invasive species by the Alabama Invasive Plant Council.—A. Diamo

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Not Native

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