16 Facts About Kudzu

Kudzu is a group of climbing, coiling, and trailing deciduous perennial vines native to much of East Asia, Southeast Asia, and some Pacific islands, but invasive in many parts of the world, primarily North America.

Kudzu saplings are sensitive to mechanical disturbance and are damaged by chemical fertilizers.

Kudzu has been used as a form of erosion control and to enhance the soil.

Kudzu can be used by grazing animals, as it is high in quality as a forage and palatable to livestock.

Kudzu had been used in the southern United States specifically to feed goats on land that had limited resources.

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Kudzu has low forage yields despite its rate of growth, yielding around two to four tons of dry matter per acre annually.

Kudzu fiber has long been used for fiber art and basketry.

Kudzu contains isoflavones, including puerarin, daidzein, daidzin, mirificin, and salvianolic acid, among numerous others identified.

Kudzu has been used for centuries in East Asia as folk medicine using herbal teas and tinctures.

Kudzu powder is used in Japan to make an herbal tea called kuzuyu.

Kudzu fiber, known as ko-hemp, is used traditionally to make clothing and paper, and has been investigated for industrial-scale use.

Kudzu competes with native flora for light, and acts to block their access to this vital resource by growing over them and shading them with its leaves.

Kudzu is an infamous weed in the United States, where it can be found in 32 states.

Kudzu was introduced from Japan into the United States at the Japanese pavilion in the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia.

Kudzu started the Kudzu Club of America, which, by 1943, had 20,000 members.

Kudzu is becoming a problem in northeastern Australia, and has been seen in Switzerland and in isolated spots in Northern Italy.