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.
Still, along Southern roads, the blankets of untouched kudzu create famous spectacles. Bored children traveling rural highways insist their parents wake them when they near the green kudzu monsters stalking the roadside.
It was an invasive that grew best in the landscape modern Southerners were most familiar with—the roadsides framed in their car windows. It was conspicuous even at 65 miles per hour, reducing complex and indecipherable landscape details to one seemingly coherent mass.
And because it looked as if it covered everything in sight, few people realized that the vine often fizzled out just behind that roadside screen of green. And that, perhaps, is the real danger of kudzu.
Our obsession with the vine hides the South. 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. A recent study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reports that while vulnerable species are primarily in the Southeast, most lands protected as federal and state parks are in the West. Tennessee, Alabama and northern Georgia often considered centers of the kudzu invasion and the Florida Panhandle are among the areas that the authors argue should be prioritized.
But its mythic rise and fall should alert us to the careless secondhand way we sometimes view the living world, and how much more we might see if we just looked a little deeper. He is also the long-time garden columnist for the Alabama Press-Register. Related Reads. Roots are fleshy. Taproot is massive, up to 1. Leaves are compound with three broad leaflets each up to 10cm across. Pods are brown, flat, hairy, 5cm long, containing 3—10 small, hard, oval seeds.
Most reproduction is vegetative as roots form where stems touch ground. Habitat Prefers full sun and generally intolerant of deep shade. Life cycle Deciduous in South East Queensland. Impacts Environmental Out-competes and smothers native vegetation. Economic Damages buildings, overhead wires and other structures. Out-competes and smothers tree crops. How it is spread Spread over long-distance by people moving live plants.
Transported and planted for stock fodder, as herb and as garden ornamental. Seed pods spread by sticking to clothing or animal fur. This meter will fill as you add plants to your cart. Add at least 6 plants to make the most of our minimum shipping charge. Although the genus Pueraria contains just Asian species, it has really made a name for itself. As such, some people consider it to be an invasive weed. For over 2, years, people have used kudzu root in traditional Chinese medicine for purposes like treating fevers, diarrhea, and even diabetes and heart disease 1.
In its raw form, kudzu root resembles other root tubers, such as potatoes or yams. It has tan skin, white flesh, and an oblong shape. Kudzu root is the edible part of a trailing vine native to several Asian countries. People have used it for many years in traditional Chinese medicine, and it resembles other root tubers, like yams. However, you can also consume kudzu root as a food.
You can eat the root as you would other root vegetables, like potatoes or rutabagas. Kudzu roots can be dried and ground into a powder, which some people use as breading for fried foods or as a thickener for soups and sauces. People typically use kudzu root as an herbal supplement or tea. You can also cook and eat it, or use it in dried and powdered form as a breading or thickening agent. One small study looked at the effects of kudzu in 17 men ages 21—33 who reported drinking approximately 22—35 drinks per week.
The researchers gave participants either kudzu extract or a placebo every day for 4 weeks 2. The participants reported their desire for and consumption of alcohol for the duration of the study. Furthermore, the men who took kudzu had fewer heavy drinking days per week and had significantly more consecutive days with no alcohol consumption 2.
Another study found that people who took puerarin, an isoflavone extract from the kudzu plant, prior to drinking took longer to consume alcoholic beverages 3. This effect has been seen in other studies as well.
In some instances, even a single dose of kudzu extract reduced alcohol consumption and prevented binge drinking 4 , 5. Thus, scientists need to do more research in this area on the effects of kudzu root specifically. Kudzu root is rich in antioxidants , compounds that protect cells from oxidative stress that can lead to disease. The isoflavone puerarin is the most abundant antioxidant compound in the kudzu vine 6. One study in mice found that kudzu vine extract was highly beneficial in treating alcohol-induced liver damage by scavenging harmful free radicals and boosting the natural antioxidant system 6.
Some health companies sell the kudzu root species Pueraria mirifica as a supplement for menopausal and postmenopausal women. Kudzu root contains phytoestrogens , plant compounds that scientists have found act similarly to estrogen in the human body 7 , 8.
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