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Kudzu

Pueraria montana var. lobata
(previously P. lobata and P. thunbergiana)

Plant: Twining and trailing semi-woody vine, 35-100 ft (10-30 m) long, with rope-like vines covering mature trees and forming dense patches, deciduous and dying with first frost, from large, semi-woody tuberous roots reaching depths of 3-16 ft (1-5 m).

Stem: Round, trailing or climbing by twining on objects less than 4 in (10 cm) in diameter, infrequent branching, young stems yellow-green with dense-erect golden hairs and upward matted silver hairs, aging to rope-like, light gray, and hairless, and eventually rough barked, rigid, and usually dark-brown, up to 4 in (10 cm) in diameter and larger. Frequent unswollen nodes, rooting at nodes when on ground or buried.

Leaves: Alternate, compound with 3-leaflets, leaflets 3-7 in (8-18 cm) long and 2.5-8 in (6-20 cm) wide, usually slightly lobed (or unlobed in shade); middle leaflet symmetric,

July (J. Miller)

April (J. Miller)
2-lobed; side leaflets 1-lobed; light-tan, finely hairy above and silvery hairy beneath; tips pointed; margins fine, golden hairy; leaf stalks 6-12 in (15-30 cm) long, long-hairy, with swollen bases having two stipules.

Flowers: Jun-Sep. Axillary spike-like clusters (racemes) 2-12 in (5-30 cm) long, pea-like flowers with petals lavender to wine-colored, flowers in pairs (or three’s) from raised nodes spiraling up the stalk, opening from the base to top, on bracted short hairy pedicels.

Fruit and Seeds: Sep-Jan. Dry, flattened legume pod (bulging above the seeds), 1.25-3 in. (3-8 cm) long and 0.3-0.5 in. (8-12 mm) wide, tan with stiff golden brown hairs, splitting on 1-2 sides to release a few ovoid seeds.

Ecology: Forms dense mats over the ground, debris, shrubs, and trees, matted dead leaves persist during winter, occurs in old infestations, along rights-of-way and stream banks, spreading outward.

Exotic Pest Plant Control Recommendations

Bayer International Code - PUMOL
FIA Code - 3123

November (J. Miller) June (T. Bodner)


July (J. Miller) October (J. Miller)


July (T. Bodner) November (T. Bodner)

* USDA, NRCS. 2001. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.1 (http://plants.usda.gov). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA. February 5, 2002.
States with suspected
infestations are shown in red.*
line
USDA Forest ServiceUSDA APHIS PPQ The Bugwood Network University of Georgia Invasive.org is a joint project of
The Bugwood Network, USDA Forest Service & USDA APHIS PPQ.
The University of Georgia - Warnell School of Forest Resources and
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences - Dept. of Entomology
Last updated on Sunday, August 10, 2003 at 11:16 PM
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