This trailing vine was found near Washington DC. Obviously a legume, but precise id would be very welcome.
From what I recall of my days of reading Taunton Fine Gardening cover to cover - printed on paper no less - Isn’t Kudzu a nuisance if not invasive Rather like bindweed (morning glory) for us in BC Canada. Or that awful bamboo-looking plant that the local county govt sprays to eradicate. (Name is knotweed?) ... so many invasives started in gardens
I used to live in Atlanta. Kudzu is much more intense an invasive than bindweed. I spreads over huge areas and covers everything. I have seen it cover houses. On a positive note, the flowers smell wonderful--like grape soda. I brought a bouquet of them into my office one day. Over 50 people came through and no one recognized source of the flowers.
Just saw this thread and thought I would add this link. Kudzu in the United States - Wikipedia Anyone with this vine should read and IMO take action.
ERIC - QUESTIONS 1. How and when did kudzu originate in USA (I suppose I need to re-read Acers Wiki référence above) 2. are there incidences of Kudzu in Canada? If not - yet - how close to Canada now? (Rather like the Oregon possums have moved north etc) ÉDIT - i am asking about western Canada - any hère we know of?
Hello Acer - do you know of this horror in the UK at all (or yet)? I am curious why if a plant is native to somewhere (like this in Japan and other Asia) ... why does it not overtake the environment there. But yet if introduced (as per Wiki you cite above) it becomes a HUGE pest eventually.
Reading the link @Acerholic provided above, is this: Kudzu is believed to have originated in Japan, where the ecosystem (primarily the tendency of kudzu to experience above-ground die back over winter) kept the vine from becoming a nuisance, and it is thought to have been introduced to China and likely Korea. Kudzu in the United States - Wikipedia
@Georgia Strait good evening Georgia, fortunately as far as I know No. We have had Russian vine which was a real problem 30 -40 years ago, but thankfully it has been removed almost everywhere. Talking about species excelling in other countries and becoming invasive is on another forum. So I have attached the link here. Plants: Conservation All this is a concern for every one of us and every ONE of us can do our part, especially IMO on this forum in educating the new gardeners who ask questions about plants.
Thank you both Some invasive plants come from home aquariums ... or on boats imported for a holiday fr another region This is a HUGE problem of a weed since early 1970s in Okanagan lake and other water bodies About Eurasian Watermilfoil – Okanagan Basin Water Board (Other wetland plants include purple loosestrife in the Valley ... and thé rangeland invasive like hounds tongue and many others (imported on hay bales ... transported by cattle or wildlife on their fur or in scat (manure))
@Georgia Strait that was an interesting link, but worrying as well. So difficult to remove water borne invasives. I wonder if the more regular users of the forum and there seems to be a fairly small nucleus of us, should always add this link to new members questions when an invasive has been recognised, to highlight this ongoing problem. If we make just a little difference, it is a positive way forward. Just a thought !!!! Plants: Conservation
The areas where it is invasive have much hotter, more humid summers than either UK or the PNW. Kudzu needs that heat and humidity to thrive; where it doesn't get them, it struggles. In Japan where it is native, it'll be controlled by a host of natural herbivores that have adapted to eat it. They are missing in the eastern US, which is why it is such a problem there.
