When was kudzu introduced to the united states

Skip to content. Skip to navigation. This vine was introduced from Japan to the U. In fact, farmers in the southern U. Not surprisingly, kudzu is established throughout the southeastern U.

By way of comparison, the same report estimates that Asian privet had invaded some 3. Invasive roses had covered more than three times as much forestland as kudzu.

And though many sources continue to repeat the unsupported claim that kudzu is spreading at the rate of , acres a year—an area larger than most major American cities—the Forest Service expects an increase of no more than 2, acres a year. Even existing stands of kudzu now exude the odor of their own demise, an acrid sweetness reminiscent of grape bubble gum and stink bug.

A study of one site showed a one-third reduction in kudzu biomass in less than two years. The widely cited nine-million-acre number appears to have been plucked from a small garden club publication, not exactly the kind of source you expect a federal agency or academic journal to rely on. Yet the popular myth won a modicum of scientific respectability. Today, it frequently appears on popular top-ten lists of invasive species.

The official hype has also led to various other questionable claims—that kudzu could be a valuable source of biofuel and that it has contributed substantially to ozone pollution.

As trees grew in the cleared lands near roadsides, kudzu rose with them. It appeared not to stop because there were no grazers to eat it back. But, in fact, it rarely penetrates deeply into a forest; it climbs well only in sunny areas on the forest edge and suffers in shade.

Still, along Southern roads, the blankets of untouched kudzu create famous spectacles. Bored children traveling rural highways insist their parents wake them when they near the green kudzu monsters stalking the roadside.

It was an invasive that grew best in the landscape modern Southerners were most familiar with—the roadsides framed in their car windows.

It was conspicuous even at 65 miles per hour, reducing complex and indecipherable landscape details to one seemingly coherent mass. And because it looked as if it covered everything in sight, few people realized that the vine often fizzled out just behind that roadside screen of green.

And that, perhaps, is the real danger of kudzu. The best way to fight invasive species is to prevent them from occurring in the first place. Instructional Material. Though its name makes it sound heavenly, the invasive tree of heaven is no angel. Learn all about this devilish invader. Wild garlic mustard is a highly destructive invasive species in the United States, but anyone can help stop its spread.

Back To Top. Stories in Indiana Kudzu: The Invasive Vine that Ate the South Kudzu looks innocent enough yet the invasive plant easily overtakes trees, abandoned homes and telephone poles. After 3 years, produces purple or red flowers Edible? Kudzu leaves, flowers and roots can be eaten. The root should be cooked. What is kudzu? Kudzu Kudzu takes over the side of a bridge. While sometimes its leaves are oval-shaped, other times they look like this, with lobes. Learn more about invasive species Learn more.

What problems does kudzu cause? Kudzu overtakes a hill Invasive kudzu overtakes trees and shrubs on a hillside in Blount County, Tennessee. How could climate change make kudzu worse?