NC INVASIVE PLANT COUNCIL
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  • NC Invasive Plants
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Kudzu

Pueraria montana

The infamous kudzu was introduced as an ornamental plant in the 19th century and its use expanded during the 1930s when farmers were encouraged to use it to manage erosion. Within 20 years it has invaded southeastern ecosystems. It kills other plants by growing over them – at an extremely rapid rate (1’ in a day!). It is found in open habitats throughout North Carolina; it does best in fields, disturbed forests, forest edges, and roadsides. It spreads through runners and rhizomes.  

Kudzu is a woody vine that can grow up 100’. Its compound leaves are made up of 3 leaflets (4” wide); sometimes these are round coming to a point; some are lobed (2-3 lobes per leaf); they grow alternately along the stem. Stems are hairy when young but become woody as they mature (diameter can be up to 4”). Flowers (0.5 – 0.75”) are purple and fragrant and grow in hanging spikes; they bloom in late summer on sun-exposed plants. During the fall, the vine produces flat, brown seedpods. 

Fact Sheet: Kudzu

Picture
Photo credit (for both): James H. Miller, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org
Picture
Photo Credit:  Chris Moorman
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  • Home
  • About
    • Donate
    • Invasives 101
    • Membership
    • Board of Directors >
      • NC-IPC ByLaws
    • Contact
    • Listserve
  • News
    • Iverson Scholarship
    • Wildland Weeds Magazine
    • Calendar >
      • 2018 Workshop
  • NC Invasive Plants
    • Ailanthus Altissima (Tree-of-Heaven)
    • Elaeagnus umbellata (Autumn Olive)
    • Ficaria verna (Fig Buttercup)
    • Imperata cylindrica (Cogongrass)
    • Ligustrum sinense (Chinese Privet)
    • Ligustrum vulgare (Wild Privet)
    • Lonicera japonica (Japanese Honeysuckle)
    • Microstegium vimineum (Japanese Stilt Grass)
    • Nandina domestica
    • Nymphoides indica (water snowflake)
    • Paulownia tomentosa (Princess Tree)
    • Persicaria perfoliata (Mile-A-Minute Vine)
    • Pueraria montana (Kudzu)
    • Pyrus calleryana (Bradford Pear)
  • Annual Symposiums
    • 2022 Joint Symposium >
      • 2022 Speaker Presentations
    • 2021 Virtual Conference
    • 2019 Joint Symposium >
      • 2019 Presentations
    • 2018 Annual Symposium
    • 2017 Annual Symposium
    • 2016 Annual Symposium >
      • 2016 agenda
    • 2015 Annual Symposium >
      • 2015 Presentations
      • 2015 Agenda
  • Projects
    • Fig Buttercup Project
    • Eno River Hydrilla Project
    • Awareness Week
  • Awards
    • 2015 Student Competition Winners
    • 2015 EIA Award
    • 2014 EIA Award