Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
Learn more about Kudzu from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
1171
Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Fabales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (11/30/12):
Pueraria montana var. lobata
FAMILY
Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Pueraria montana var. lobata
FAMILY
Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 098-48-001:
Pueraria lobata
FAMILY
Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933)
Pueraria thunbergiana
COMMON NAME:
Kudzu, Foot-a-Day
To see a detailed map, click here
Look for it on roadsides, in waste areas, per Weakley's Flora
Woody vine
Perennial
Non-native: east Asia
Documented growing wild in
GA
NC
SC
Common
This plant is causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:
LEAVES:
Odd-pinnately compound: 3 leaflets
Mostly alternate
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Reddish-purple
Bilaterally symmetrical
5-lobed campanulate calyx (upper lobes united, so it appears 4-lobed)
5-parted papilionaceous corolla
Superior ovary
Flowers in dense, axillary, spikelike racemes
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Legume
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
Pueraria montana var. lobata FAMILY Fabaceae
Kudzu, Foot-a-Day
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Click the thumbnails to see larger pictures.
JK Marlow s040515_m
May Greenville County SC
Leaves may be entire or deeply 2-3 lobed, densely pubescent beneath, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas.
COMPARE
leaves of Poison Ivy and others confused with it
JK Marlow jkm0307k_35
July Greenville County SC
Roadside
Leaflets usually slightly lobed (unless in shade), and with pointed tips, per Nonnative Invasive Plants of Southern Forests.
Ben Geer Keys bgk1171_b
August
Flowers on bracted short hairy pedicels, opening from base of raceme to top, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses.
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_p_montana_lobata_12
September
The flowers smell like artificial grape flavoring, per Weakley's Flora.
JK Marlow s070915_a
September Greenville County SC
Leaves may be entire or deeply 2-3 lobed, densely pubescent beneath, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas.
JK Marlow jkm071020_070
October Pickens County SC
Upper petal lavender-rose to wine-colored with an inner yellow spot, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses.
JK Marlow s031226_b
December Greenville County SC
Fruit green, ripening to tan, with stiff golden-brown hairs, per Nonnative Invasive Plants of Southern Forests.