| Pueraria lobata | |
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Kudzu Vine
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| Origin Of Species | |
| Asia | |
| Physical Description | |
| Kudzu is a high climbing perennial vine that may reach up to four inches in diameter. Deciduous compound leaves alternate on the stem, with three characteristic leaflets that may reach up to eight inches in length and four inches across. Leaflets are lobed and may be fuzzy. Kudzu produces purple flowers that are fragrant and contained in large, hanging clusters that are prevalent in the summer. Dark brown flattened pods covered with fine hairs contain seeds and ripen in the fall. | |
| Habitat And Distribution | |
| Kudzu is prevalent at forest edges, abandoned fields, roadsides, and disturbed areas, but can survive nearly anywhere with ample sunlight, heat, and rain. It is common throughout the southeastern and eastern portions of the United States. | |
| Location On Campus | |
| A large colony of kudzu is found within Westhampton Woods between the Westhampton tennis courts and College Road. | |
| Negative Impacts | |
| Kudzu is an extremely fast-growing vine that harms other plants by smothering them under a dense cover of leaves, encircling woody stems and tree trunks and breaking their branches, and uprooting shrubs and small trees with the force of its weight. Kudzu can grow well under a myriad of soil types and conditions, allowing it to proliferate in a wide range of areas. | |
| VDCR Invasiveness Ranking | |
| Highly Invasive Species Additional Images: Leaves with stems Flower cluster Vines growing on other plants |
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