Kudzu - "rodent of the botanical world"

[Mulboyne]

AlabamaTV: The Amazing Story of Kudzu
Kudzu was introduced to the United States in 1876 at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...The Japanese government constructed a beautiful garden filled with plants from their country. The large leaves and sweet-smelling blooms of kudzu captured the imagination of American gardeners who used the plant for ornamental purposes...During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the Soil Conservation Service promoted kudzu for erosion control. Hundreds of young men were given work planting kudzu through the Civilian Conservation Corps...The problem is that it just grows too well! The climate of the Southeastern U.S. is perfect for kudzu. The vines grow as much as a foot per day during summer months, climbing trees, power poles, and anything else they contact. Under ideal conditions kudzu vines can grow sixty feet each year...the vines can also destroy valuable forests by preventing trees from getting sunlight...more...

[Tiger Stripe]

[color="blue"]I saw a special on Kudzu, which is everywhere in my area, the other day that showed that kudzu is not all that terrible if managed properly.

It has medicinal properties, can be jellied or fried and eaten, and has a few industrial uses as well, I think it has some sort of berries that are consumable as well (i think the jelly comes from these).

It grows with almost no effort on the part of the farmer, regrows on it's own, and needs no fertilizer or pesticides.[/color]