Kudzu Plant

Pueraria montana

Background & Fun Facts

  • aggressive growing vine

  • 15 species of kudzu plant

  • blooms grape scented purple flowers from July-October typically after its 3rd year

  • roots reach a depth of 12 feet

  • can weigh 200-300 lbs

  • leaves similar to that of poison ivy

  • can grow up to 1 foot per day (60 ft per season)

Origin & History

  • Native to China, Taiwan, Japan, and India

  • dried and crushed for Chinese medicinal use starting in 1578

  • used to make cloth and paper by 1665

  • Kudzu flour (1700's) imported to the US from Japan and sold in Asian health stores

  • Arrived to the US in 1876 but was destroyed by law. Arrived back in US by 1883


Taxonomy & Nomenclature

•Kingdom: Plantae

•Phylum: Spermatophyta

•Subphylum: Angiospermae

•Class: Dicotyledonae

•Order: Fabales

•Family: Fabaceae

•Genus: Pueraria- a type of woody wine

•Species: Pueraria montana

•Specific epithet: montana- to come from mountains


•Eukaryotic, multicellular

•Photosynthesis

•Seed producing

•Climbing vines

•Flowering plant

•Kudzu


Characteristics, Habitat, & Food

•Southeastern United States

•Aggressive climbing vine- can take over any vegetation

  • takes over vacant properties, parking lots, fields

  • kills surrounding vegetation by smothering and heavily shading

•Well adapted in Alabama- covers over 1 million acres

  • As far north as New York & Massachusetts

  • small populations in WA and OR

•Can grow on almost any soil type

  • clay, dirt, cracks in cement, sand

•Makes its own food through photosynthesis

•Reproduction:

•Asexual vegetative spread (cloning)

•Sexual reproduction dependent on pollinators


Kudzu Ozone Pollution Experiment

“Kudzu (Pueraria montana) invasion doubles emissions of nitric oxide and increases ozone pollution”

  • Authors: Jonathan E. Hickman, Shiliang Wu, Loretta J. Mickley, and Manuel T. Lerdau

  • Studied rising ozone levels due to nitric acid emissions from the kudzu plant

    • Data collection in 3 sites in Madison county, GA

    • Compared NO levels in invaded vs. non-invaded sites

    • 4 chemiluminescent NO analyzers per site, 8 per plot

Imaging Results

<-- Mean Nitrogen gas emissions from invaded plots (black) versus non-invaded plots (white)

Mean net Nitrogen mineralization and nitrification for invaded plots (black) versus non-invaded plots (grey) -->

<--Mean inorganic Nitrogen pools from invaded soils (black) versus non-invaded soils (grey)

Number of days with daily maxima 8-h ozone exceeding ppb in area surrounding data collection sites -->

Results

  • Nitric oxide fluxes 127% higher in invaded sites

    • NO emissions 2.19-3.70 ng NO-N cm−2 h−1 in invaded plots

    • NO emissions 1.21–1.26 ng NO-N cm−2 h−1 in non-invaded plots

  • N2O emissions in invaded plots 158% higher

  • Soil moisture did not differ between invaded and non-invaded plots


Experiment Conclusion & Related Findings

  • "quantitative link between a biological invasion and ozone formation" (PNAS, Hickman, et al)

  • "in this extreme scenario, kudzu invasion can overcome some of the air quality benefits of legislative control" (PNAS, Hickman et al)

  • Kudzu vine is an agricultural and environmental pest

    • potential to raise ozone levels to dangerous climate rates and overtake farming plots in AL and PA if not regulated

  • beneficial findings in Asian health foods and Chinese medicine

References

  1. Hickman, Jonathan E., et al. “Kudzu (Pueraria Montana) Invasion DOUBLES Emissions of Nitric Oxide and Increases Ozone Pollution.” PNAS, National Academy of Sciences, 1 June 2010, www.pnas.org/content/107/22/10115.full.

  2. Loewenstein, Posted by: Nancy J. “The History and Use of Kudzu in the Southeastern United States.” Alabama Cooperative Extension System, 14 Apr. 2020, www.aces.edu/blog/topics/invasive-species/the-history-and-use-of-kudzu-in-the-southeastern-united-states/.