In a few decades, a conspicuously Japanese name has come to sound like something straight from the mouth of the South, a natural complement to inscrutable words like Yazoo, gumbo and bayou. 7: 165-169. Other names: Kudzu, Pueraria montana Where did it come from? There is a spot of yellow on each stem of flowers. The kudzu is a fast-growing, woody, somewhat hairy vine that may grow to a length of 18 m (60 feet) in one season. I had no reason to doubt declarations that kudzu covered millions of acres, or that its rampant growth could consume a large American city each year. While you can find kudzu vine almost anywhere in the South by taking a drive on a country road, kudzu root is probably most popular by way of a supplement or as kudzu root tea that can be found at most health fo… Unfortunately, it quickly became a problem because of its rapid growth. It quickly got out of control and became the most infamous type of rampantly uncontrollable, smothering vegetation. The U.S. government did its best to spread kudzu throughout the South. The Japanese government constructed a beautiful garden filled with plants from their country. Wilson, the American biologist and naturalist at Harvard, says the central Gulf Coast states “harbor the most diversity of any part of eastern North America, and probably any part of North America.” Yet when it comes to environmental and conservation funding, the South remains a poor stepchild. All 3 leaves will be … In the end, kudzu may prove to be among the least appropriate symbols of the Southern landscape and the planet’s future. 1983. Native Range: Kudzu is found throughout Asia, including China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. All land owners in an infestation area must coopera… Imported from Japan in the 19th century, promoted by the Soil Conservation Service to stem soil erosion, kudzu morphed in a few decades from an … Kudzu - or kuzu (クズ) - is native to Japan and southeast China. While you can find kudzu vine almost anywhere in the South by taking a drive on a country road, kudzu root is probably most popular by way of a supplement or as kudzu root tea that can be found at most health fo… Kudzu is a fast-growing vine native to the subtropical regions of China and Japan, as well as some other Pacific islands.1, 2 The plant consists of leaves (containing 3 broad oval leaflets), purple flowers, and curling tendril spikes.3, 4 Because the stem grows up to 20 m in length and due to its extensive root system, kudzu has been used to control soil erosion. It was first introduced to the United States during the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition in 1876 where it was touted as a great ornamental plant for its sweet-smelling blooms and sturdy vines. Its introduction has produced devastating environmental consequences. Currently they have spread through several southeastern states, including North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. Southern Journal of Applied Forestry. Other names: Kudzu, Pueraria montana Where did it come from? As trees grew in the cleared lands near roadsides, kudzu rose with them. There is a spot of yellow on each stem of flowers. Kudzu definition is - a fast-growing Asian vine (Pueraria lobata) of the legume family that is used for forage and erosion control and is often a serious weed in the southeastern U.S.. Kudzu: A Southern Musical toured the country. Kudzu is a group of climbing, coiling, and trailing perennial vines native to much of East Asia, Southeast Asia, and some Pacific islands, but invasive in many parts of the world, primarily North America. Estimates of the vine's spread vary, from the United States Forest Service's 2015 estimate of 2,500 acres (1,000 ha - 10 km²) per year to the Dep… Kudzu bugs are a type of stink bug. What helps Kudzu to thrive is its root system that forms very deep in the soil. I’d walk an extra mile to avoid patches of it and the writhing knots of snakes that everyone said were breeding within. Kudzu can be controlled with glyphosate but it may take several years of … Revegetation of sites following treatment is an important last step to ensure that any residual kudzu does not reestablish. Vote Now! Terms of Use By 2010 the first signs of kudzu bugs were in Alabama. It cannot be over emphasized that total eradication of kudzu is necessary to prevent re-growth. Keep up-to-date on: © 2020 Smithsonian Magazine. They were half way across the world in Asia, their native region. It is also native to the south Pacific region, including Australia, Fiji, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Vanuatu. 7: 165-169. It’s as if many have come to view the Southeast as little more than a kudzu desert. It veils more serious threats to the countryside, like suburban sprawl, or more destructive invasive plants such as the dense and aggressive cogon grass and the shrubby privet. But, in fact, it rarely penetrates deeply into a forest; it climbs well only in sunny areas on the forest edge and suffers in shade. “The Vine that ate the South” is no longer just a southern problem either. By Sandra Avant July 13, 2016 . I’m not sure when I first began to doubt. But in 1935, as dust storms damaged the prairies, Congress declared war on soil erosion and enlisted kudzu as a primary weapon. K Britton/USDA FS (right) The Civilian Conservation Corps and southern farmers planted kudzu to reduce soil erosion. Farmers still couldn’t find a way to make money from the crop. Kudzu thrives through drought and hot temperatures, but continuous removal of all vegetative parts during extreme weather will kill kudzu over time. The great kudzu invasion all started out with a mistake: The Soil Erosion Service and Civilian Conservation Corp intentionally planted it to control soil erosion in the state of Pennsylvania. Our species profiles include selected highly relevant resources for the species (organized by source), and access to all species related resources included on our site. According to research published in 2010 (Hickman et al. www.forestryimages.org. Kudzu is a perennial climbing vine native to eastern Asia that was recently found in Leamington, Ontario. Continue They have alternate and compound leaves, with three wide leaflets with hairy margins. Confronted by these bleak images, some Southerners began to wear their kudzu proudly, evidence of their invincible spirit. The vines can grow up and over almost any structure and literally covers objects with its fast-growing vegetation. The Civilian Conservation Corps and southern farmers planted kudzu to reduce soil erosion. He is also the long-time garden columnist for the Alabama Press-Register. Kudzu is native to Asia, particularly China, Japan and Korea, and has been used in Eastern medicine for centuries. Railroad and highway developers, desperate for something to cover the steep and unstable gashes they were carving into the land, planted the seedlings far and wide. The plant was first brought to North America in 1876 to landscape a garden at the United States Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Each flower is on a separate petiole that connects to the stem. Distribution U.S. (Pueraria lobata, or P. thunbergiana), twining perennial vine that is a member of a genus belonging to the family Leguminosae. Even existing stands of kudzu now exude the odor of their own demise, an acrid sweetness reminiscent of grape bubble gum and stink bug. They were first sighted in Georgia in 2009 and are suspected to originate from Asia. There were kudzu queens and regionwide kudzu planting contests. 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Kudzu has the ability to cycle nitrogen through the soil and the air at a rate higher than many other plants, and research has found that nitrogen rates are higher in areas where kudzu is plentiful. Cut the Vines. Kudzu monocultures typically contain thousands of individual plants per acre . It’s related to five species in the genus Pueraria (P. montana, P. lobata, P. edulis, P. phaseoloides and P. thomsoni). They were first sighted in Georgia in 2009 and are suspected to originate from Asia. Like most Southern children, I accepted, almost as a matter of faith, that kudzu grew a mile a minute and that its spread was unstoppable. Plant Control:Mature patches of Kudzu can be difficult to contain let alone control. That’s about one-tenth of 1 percent of the South’s 200 million acres of forest. In the often-cited poem “Kudzu,” Georgia novelist James Dickey teases Southerners with their own tall tales, invoking an outrageous kudzu-smothered world where families close the windows at night to keep the invader out, where the writhing vines and their snakes are indistinguishable. But it did not become the plant that’s eating America all by itself. What we know as kudzu (Pueraria montana) was brought from Asia to the U.S. in the late 19th century. It has been spreading rapidly in the southern U.S., "easily outpacing the use of herbicide spraying and mowing, as well increasing the costs of these controls by $6 million annually". Now that scientists at last are attaching real numbers to the threat of kudzu, it’s becoming clear that most of what people think about kudzu is wrong. They have alternate and compound leaves, with three wide leaflets with hairy margins. More important, it obscures the beauty of the South’s original landscape, reducing its rich diversity to a simplistic metaphor. Origin and Distribution A native of Asia, kudzu was introduced into the United States at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition in 1876. Kudzu is native to Asia, particularly China, Japan and Korea, and has been used in Eastern medicine for centuries. Cut the Vines. In places where it was once relatively easy to get a photograph of kudzu, the bug-infested vines are so crippled they can’t keep up with the other roadside weeds. 1983. It has large leaves, long racemes with late-blooming reddish purple flowers, and flat, hairy seed pods. Privacy Statement Present: AL, AR, DE, FL, GA, HI, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MO, MD, MS, NC, NE, NJ, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA, WA, WV For a CAPS/CERIS/USDA map of past/presen… Perhaps it was while I watched horses and cows mowing fields of kudzu down to brown stubs. 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