Family: Fabaceae • Life Form: Vine • Tier: 4
History and introduction
Kudzu is native to parts of east Asia. While it was brought to the United States in the 1800’s as a showcase of ornamental plants, thousands of acres were also intentionally planted in the United States as a means for erosion control and cattle grazing. It is now present on Long Island and in the Lower Hudson region, likely in or around areas where it was intentionally planted.
Identification
Kudzu is a perennial climbing vine. It has compound leaves with three, lobed leaflets along the vine. Vines have orange hairs along the stem, and vines emerge from a root crown. In late summer to early fall, kudzu flowers bloom, with purple-red inflorescences that smell strongly of grape soda. Flowers do not usually appear until the plant’s third year. Fruits are flat brown seed pods, two inches long and hairy.
Impacts
Like other invasive vines, the weight of kudzu can harm the plants that it overgrows. This happens by blocking sunlight, weighing down tree limbs, and retaining moisture close to the tree. As a member of the legume family, Kudzu can also alter the soil it grows in by fixing nitrogen. These high nutrient soils can be favorable to other invasive species. The weight of kudzu vines can also harm infrastructure such as powerlines.
Management
While difficult, eradication of kudzu is possible at the site level over several years of control. According to the NYSDEC Kudzu Factsheet, Kudzu control methods include:
- applying herbicide to the leaves and to the base of cut vines,
- cutting the vertical vines that are too tall to be reached with foliar herbicide,
- removing the below-ground root crowns,
- mowing every two to four weeks throughout the growing season for multiple years, and grazing by animals (goats, sheep).
Caution must be used when disposing of kudzu material because root crowns and stem nodes can reestablish.
Report kudzu here: https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/5230ffc45cbc4526bbca9bc3d3ec804a?open=browser
Learn more: https://nyis.info/invasive_species/kudzu/
