Kudzu
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Kudzu flowers <tr><th bgcolor=lightgreen>Scientific classification <tr><td>
Uses
Culinary
The starchy roots are ground into a fine powder and used for varieties of Wagashi and herbal medicines. When added to water and heated, kudzu powder becomes clear and add stickiness to the food. The name Kudzu appeared first in Kojiki and Nihonshoki as a type of vine or Kazura (葛 or 蔓) used commonly by the people who lived in Kudzu (国栖), area around present-day Yoshino, Nara prefecture. It is unclear whether the name was taken from the people or the name of the plant was applied to the people. Kudzu has been in use for over 1300 years and it is speculated that it goes back even further. In the Nara and Heian era, records had been found that they were collected and sent as a part of tax. Even today, "Yoshino Kudzu" has the best image of kudzu powder yet. Kagoshima prefecture is the largest producer of kudzu products.
Medicinal
Studies have shown [1] (http://www.med.unc.edu/alcohol/research/Overstreet/kudzu.html) that kudzu can reduce both hangovers and alcohol cravings. The mechanism for this is not yet established, but it may have to do with both alcohol metabolism and the reward curcuits in the brain.
Kudzu as an invasive exotic
Kudzu was introduced from Japan into the United States in 1876 at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, where it was promoted as a forage crop and an ornamental plant. From 1935 to the early 1950s, farmers in the South were encouraged to plant kudzu to reduce soil erosion, and Franklin D. Roosevelt's Civilian Conservation Corps planted it widely for many years. Kudzu was recognized as a pest weed by the United States Department of Agriculture in 1953, and was removed from its list of permissible cover plants.
Kudzu is now common throughout most of the southeastern United States, and has been found as far north as Pennsylvania, and as far south as northern Florida. It has also been found growing (rather unexplainedly) in Clackamas County, Oregon in 2000 ([2] (http://www.oda.state.or.us/information/news/2000/kudzu.html)). It cannot tolerate extremely low freezing temperatures that bring the frost line down through its entire root system; however it does require some cold weather (a solid frost or freeze annually).
Kudzu vines can make walking across the land nearly impossible, as it takes over all horizontal and vertical surfaces, both natural and manmade. Its dense growth obstructs all views and movement into the area. It kills or degrades other plants by smothering them under a solid blanket of leaves, by girdling woody stems and tree trunks, and by breaking branches or uprooting entire trees and shrubs through its weight.
The spread of kudzu in the U.S. is mainly by vegetative expansion by runners and rhizomes and by vines that root at the nodes to form new plants. Kudzu will also spread by seeds, which are contained in pods and mature in the autumn. One or two viable seeds are produced per cluster of pods. These hard-coated seeds may not germinate for several years, which can result in the re-appearance of the species years after it was thought eradicated at a site.
For successful long-term control of kudzu, the extensive root system must be destroyed. Any remaining root crowns will lead to reinfestation of an area. Mechanical methods involve cutting vines just below ground level and destroying all cut material. Close mowing every month or regular heavy grazing for two growing seasons, or repeated cultivation may be effective. Cut kudzu can be fed to livestock, burned or enclosed in plastic bags and sent to a landfill. If done in the spring, cutting must be repeated as regrowth appears to exhaust the plant's stored carbohydrate reserves. Late-season cutting should be followed up with immediate application of a systemic herbicide to cut stems, to encourage transport of the herbicide into the root system. Repeated applications of several soil-active herbicides have been used effectively on large infestations in forestry situations. Efforts are being organized by the U.S. Forest Service to search for biological control agents for kudzu, and a particular fungus is currently in testing.
This article was originally based on content from public domain web pages from the United States National Park Service and the United States Bureau of Land Management.
de:Kudzu (Pflanze) ja:クズ