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Altamaha Basin > Hydrology > Water Quality > Environmental Threats > Human Impacts >
       Cultural Features > Coastal Habitats > Tributaries > Plants > Animals > Sapelo Island
General Interest Site
Plants > Species Typical of the Area > Protected Native Species > Invasive and Introduced Species
Kudzu    Pueraria montana


Kudzu is a perennial vine of the legume family. It has dark green leaves, starchy fibrous roots, and elongated purple flowers with a fragrance reminiscent of grapes readily identify this aggressive vine. Kudzu leaves are hairy beneath, often tri-lobed, and in groups of three on the vine. Kudzu fruits, present in October and November, are hairy, bean-like pods which produce only a few viable seeds in each pod cluster. During peak growing season in early summer, this prolific vine can grow at a rate of a foot a day, easily covering and choking trees and understory vegetation.

A native of Japan, kudzu was brought to the southeastern United States at the turn of the century for use as a soil stabilizer, animal food, and ornamental vine. Due to its prolific nature and lack of natural insect or disease controls, kudzu quickly became a pest. In 1970 it was listed as a common weed in the south by the Soil Conservation Service. Today, kudzu is spread along the Atlantic coast, north to Illinois and Massachusetts, west to Texas and Oklahoma, and south to Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi where the heaviest infestations occur. It has also recently been found in Florida where it has begun to invade the Everglades.

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