Killa Kudzu

During my recent drive through the southeast region of the country I had plenty of "windshield time" to observe and think about several things on and off the highway. I've always been amazed at the winter remnant's of the south's kudzu vines vastly covering trees, shrubs, and man-made structures. The appearance of the dormant vine adds a strong and ominous element to rural southern landscapes running from ditch-lines to distant forest edges. Often it can be seen climbing aged and unused agriculture and industrial buildings long rusted by the surrounding elements and years of burning hot summers. I quickly came to the realization that this vine must know exactly what it's doing. With this in mind, I just had to learn more.

My running knowledge of the foliage wasn't extensive. I knew it was an introduced species. I knew it had since become a nuisance in the south. I recall being told at some point it has been blamed on Jimmy Carter. I always figured the latter was negative political propaganda. Surely, at the launch of my research, I found this to be the exact case.

It turns out the plant was first introduced at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. It was brought over from it's native terrain of southeast China and southern Japan. It was initially introduced to the agricultural industry as a plant that could offer a surface crop for grazing that would at the same time curb erosion and fixate nitrogen for future crops. In its later history it was propagated and planted throughout the south under an incentive put forward by FDR's Civilian Conservation Corps amidst the Great Depression. The implied intent of kudzu was great, but limited attention to it's invasive vegetative growth later proved to be a great error.

This is a plant that has impressively evolved over time and is nearly flawless in it's adaptability. It's only weakness, the cold. This is one of the reasons it's growth has been limited to primarily the southeast region. However, it has now been found in 30 counties within Illinois; being reported as far north as Evanston!  Surprisingly it's starchy roots can be harvested and processed to make premium cooking starch. The plant itself is rich in protein. I was surprised to find that it actually blooms with a brilliant stalk flower. However, the blooms are usually hidden by the plants large leaves. Anyone who takes even a limited interest in horticulture can't help but step back and marvel at the adaptability of this plant that has rooted itself into southern culture over the past hundred years. This is a plant that can literally, in the proper conditions, grow two feet a day. It has been reported that on a still night in a kudzu overgrown field, you can actually HEAR the plants collectively growing!

Southerners have taken to thinking of the plant as a hinderance. However, it has intertwined itself into southern lore as sampled in the following poem by James Dickey, properly entitled "Kudzu"....

“Japan invades. Far Eastern vines
Run from the clay banks they are

Supposed to keep from eroding.
Up telephone poles,
Which rear, half out of leafage
As though they would shriek,
Like things smothered by their own
Green, mindless, unkillable ghosts.
In Georgia, the legend says
That you must close your windows

At night to keep it out of the house.
The glass is tinged with green, even so, ...”

 Read or listen to the remainder of the poem. 

So there you have it. From interstate observation to in depth look. Turns out kudzu is a pretty interesting adaptable monster. But if you know anything about my deep fear of snakes (especially of the poisonous kind), I won't be walking through a mass of it anytime soon.