‘Leaves of three’ Part II: Kudzu

Last week I wrote about poison ivy in Leaves of Three: Part I. There are many plants that have leaves with three leaflets such as many types of clover, peas, blackberries, raspberries and others. They can be confusing. Another plant with three leaflets that we can’t miss is kudzu.

Kudzu was brought to the United States from eastern Asia in 1876 as an ornamental vine. People enjoyed its pretty purple and yellow fall-blooming flowers. Since it is in the pea family and it has the ability to fix nitrogen from the air and stabilize the soil, the Soil Conservation Service planted it in many areas of the South during the years of the 1930s through the 1950s.

Kudzu is the “poster child” of an invasive species gone bad, also known as the “vine that ate the South” and “a vegetative form of cancer.” Kudzu is a highly invasive species that covers hillsides, trees and even abandoned buildings. The vine will eventually kill the plants unfortunate enough to get in its path because the large leaves prevent them from receiving sunlight.

Kudzu has perfect traits to live in the southern states with the vines’ stiff hairs that protect the plant from sunburn by refracting sunlight. The roots grow in any type of soil and they become very large. Starch can be obtained from the roots (with a lot of work). The purple flowers form flat, hairy pea-like fruits in the fall.

Deer, groundhogs, goats and a few insects eat Kudzu leaves. An especially annoying, also non-native, insect is the kudzu bug, a small relative of stink bugs. Kudzu bugs appear in large numbers in the fall, often gathering on warm, south-facing walls of buildings, and sometimes finding their way into homes. If these bugs are touched or annoyed, they give off a foul odor.

Like Japanese honeysuckle, Chinese privet, autumn olive and many other non-native plants, we must live with this plague plant.

Kris Light photographs wildflowers, animals and anything of interest with many of her best photos used in her website: click Search All Galleries to see photos. Her Outreach Science classes are available for public, private and homeschool groups through the AMSE. Kris welcomes questions at email.