kudzu: Pueraria montana (Fabales: Fabaceae): Invasive Plant Atlas of the United States

kudzu	USDA PLANTS Symbol: PUMO U.S. Nativity: Exotic Habit: Vines Shrub or Subshrub
Pueraria montana var. lobata (Willd.) Maesen & S. Almeida

Jump to: Resources | Images | Distribution Maps | Sources

Taxonomic Rank: Magnoliopsida: Fabales: Fabaceae
Native Range: China & Japan (REHD);
Appearance Pueraria montana var. lobata is a climbing, deciduous vine capable of reaching lengths of over 100 ft. (30.5 m) in a single season. Its fleshy tap roots can reach 7 in. (18 cm) in width and grow to 9 ft. (3.8 m) deep. These roots can weigh up to 400 lbs. (180 kg). Foliage Leaves are alternate, compound (with three, usually lobed, leaflets), hairy underneath and up to 5.4 in. (15 cm) long. Flowers Flowering occurs in midsummer, when 0.5 in. (1.3 cm) long, purple, fragrant flowers hang, in clusters, in the axils of the leaves. Fruit Fruit are brown, hairy, flat, 3 in. (7.6 cm) long, 0.3 in. (0.8 cm) wide seed pods. Each pod can contain 3-10 hard seeds. Ecological Threat Preferred habitat includes open, disturbed areas such as roadsides, right-of-ways, forest edges, and old fields. Pueraria montana var. lobata often grows over, shades out and kills all other vegetation, including trees. It is native to Asia and was first introduced into the United States in 1876 at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. It was widely planted throughout the eastern United States in an attempt to control erosion.

Identification, Biology, Control and Management Resources

A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests - USDA Forest Service
Biological Control of Invasive Plants in the Eastern United States - USDA Forest Service
Southeast Exotic Pest Plant Council Invasive Plant Manual - SE-EPPC
Kudzu eradication trials with new herbicides - USDA Forest Service
Kudzu eradication trials testing fifteen herbicides - USDA Forest Service
Herbicide Tests For Kudzu Eradication - USDA Forest Service
Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas - National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Weeds Gone Wild: Alien Plant Invaders of Natural Areas - Plant Conservation Alliance
Fire Effects Information System - USDA Forest Service
Weed of the Week - USDA Forest Service
Invasive Species Management Plans for Florida - University of Florida - Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants
Fact Sheet - Ontarios Invading Species Awareness Program

Selected Images from Invasive.org

View All Images at Invasive.org

Foliage; October James H. Miller, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage	Flower(s); David J. Moorhead, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage	Flower(s); in September Chuck Bargeron, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage	Fruit(s); November James H. Miller & Ted Bodner, Southern Weed Science Society, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage
Infestation; Kudzu kills trees by shading them and spreads inexorably, mostly through soil movement and vegetative growth Kerry Britton, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage	Feature(s); Golden hairy young vines and silvery backside of leaflet in July James H. Miller, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage	Infestation; Covering an old house in the South. Jerry Asher, USDI Bureau of Land Management, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage	Bark; November James H. Miller, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage
Seedling(s); Nancy Dagley, USDI National Park Service, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage	Seed(s); Steve Hurst, USDA NRCS PLANTS Database, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage

EDDMapS Distribution:
This map is incomplete and is based only on current site and county level reports made by experts and records obtained from USDA Plants Database. For more information, visit www.eddmaps.org