PUERARIA LOBATA
FAMILY :: FABACEAE (LEGUMINOSAE)
KUDZU, GE-GEN: A quick-growing, perennial vine to 100′ long, with 3-lobed, 6″ leaves and 1″ reddish-purple, grape-scented flowers in 8″ racemes.
This listing is a perfect example of a very valuable plant being demonized as a weed: Kudzu is hated by many people in the southern USA. It was originally introduced into the USA from Japan in 1876 and was actively distributed by the US Department of Agrigulture from 1910-1953. It was pushed commercially as a hay and fodder crop and a soil-erosion control agent. Probably over one half million acres of the southern USA are now covered by Kudzu because of commercial agriculture’s irresponsibility and governmental carelessness. Kudzu is not a problem plant (weed) in Japan.
In Chinese medicine, Kudzu is widely used as a cure for drunkenness or alcohol intoxication. Modern research has shown it to be very effective in lowering blood pressure. It is used in angina pectoris and to relieve headache, stiff neck and tinnitis, and associated fevers.
Kudzu is a subtropical vine that is easy to grow.