coarse-growing perennial with trifoliate leaves that have coarsely lobed
leafets. It produces large, wisteria-like, purple flowers on long racemes,
and beans in flat, papery pods covered with a tawny down. Kudzu plants
produce long lateral runners that generate roots at intervals. Being a
member of the bean family (Fabaceae), bacteria in the roots fixes atmospheric
nitrogen, thus increasing soil fertility wherever it grows
History:
Kudzu was introduced into the United States at the Philadelphia Centennial
Exposition in 1876.
Great Depression of the 1930's when the US Government paid farmers $8.00
an acre to plant the stuff on fallow fields and bare banks as a means
of controlling erosion
USES:
In its native lands, the roots are used to make a medicinal tea for treating
dysentery and fever. In Japan, a kind of kudzu tofu is highly prized.
The stems yield a fiber called ko-kemp that is useful in making cloth
and paper. And, last but not least, the plant contains a chemical compound,
daidzin, that has proven to be effective in suppressing the craving for
alcohol.
VIDEO
LINKS
Kudzu Pics: Images from
Jack Anthony showing amazing landscapes of Kudzu growth around the south.