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*Puerariamontana (Loureiro) Merrill var. lobata (Willdenow) Maesen & S.M. Almeida ex Sanjappa & Predeep. Kudzu. Phen: Jul-Oct. Hab: Roadsides, waste areas. Dist: Native of e. Asia.
Origin/Endemic status: E. and se. Asia
Taxonomy Comments: Two other varieties occur in e. Asia.
Other Comments: Kudzu was strongly promoted in the 1920's and 1930's in the Southeastern United States as a stabilizer of eroded areas. Hundreds of Kudzu Clubs formed, and Kudzu Songbooks were published. It is now notorious as a weed and symbol of the South. Despite its notoriety in the popular press, kudzu is an ecologically relatively trivial (though conspicuous) weed, since it rarely produces viable seeds in our area, and generally does not invade high quality natural areas. The thickened rhizome can weigh as much as 150 kg, and is the source of a high quality cooking starch prized in Asia. The purple flowers smell like artificial grape flavoring. The leaves are very frost-sensitive.
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Horticultural Information
Intro:Perennial, twining vine of roadsides and waste areas.
Stems:Stems from a large, starchy tuber, starting out furry and becoming thick and woody, even though they completely die back in winter.
Leaves:Leaves alternate, on long petioles with a pair of lobed, oval stipules at the base; divided into 3 oval to diamond-shaped leaflets (sometimes lobed), bearing marginal hairs and dense fur on the undersides.
Inforescence:
Flowers:Flowers in hairy, stalked, pendant racemes from leaf axils; purple tinged with red, 1/2-3/4 in. long, with pea-flower shape and a fragrance likened to artificial grape-flavoring.
Fruits:Fruit a linear-oblong pod covered with reddish-brown hairs, rarely producing seeds in our area.
Comments:Promoted in the 1920s and 30s in the southeastern U.S. as a stabilizer of eroded areas, it is now a conspicuous weed that spreads into forests and can topple utility poles.
Height:to 100 ft. (long)
plant sale text:
bloom table text:
description:Perennial, twining vine of roadsides and waste areas.
stems:Stems from a large, starchy tuber, starting out furry and becoming thick and woody, even though they completely die back in winter.
leaves:Leaves alternate, on long petioles with a pair of lobed, oval stipules at the base; divided into 3 oval to diamond-shaped leaflets (sometimes lobed), bearing marginal hairs and dense fur on the undersides.
inflorescence:
flowers:Flowers in hairy, stalked, pendant racemes from leaf axils; purple tinged with red, 1/2-3/4 in. long, with pea-flower shape and a fragrance likened to artificial grape-flavoring.
fruits:Fruit a linear-oblong pod covered with reddish-brown hairs, rarely producing seeds in our area.
comments:Promoted in the 1920s and 30s in the southeastern U.S. as a stabilizer of eroded areas, it is now a conspicuous weed that spreads into forests and can topple utility poles.
