People familiar with kudzu don’t think of the weed as an edible food source. The large three-leaf plant, part of the pea or legume family, is more than a soil stabilizer.
But give me broccoli anytime; who wants to eat weeds?
Kudzu is the green stuff that gives trees the appearance of towering statues, giant green sculptures, and evergreen monsters. The vacant lots in my neighborhood are covered with it.
Southern states began using the plant to prevent soil erosion in the 1900s. It is evident that little was known about its mysterious and domineering nature. Kudzu runs like an Olympian trailing the ground and is a climbing marvel on most things, especially trees. The weed or vine prevents vegetation that it covers from receiving much-needed sunlight. Without sunlight, the covered vegetation’s growth is stifled and could die. To say that kudzu is a competitive weed is a gross understatement. Many refer to kudzu as ‘the vine that ate the South.’
Controlling the perennial plant is a vegetation nightmare. The vine walks, runs, and climbs at will, covering everything in its path except for smooth objects.
It’s so prevalent that it should be edible. Human consumption of the stuff may be the only way to keep kudzu under control.
It’s not unusual to find the aggressive invasive kudzu in many places, especially vacant lots, right-of-ways, abandoned buildings, unattended fields, and forests. Kudzu serves its purpose, preventing erosion, but it’s like the bully that never backs down, constantly flexing its strength even in droughts.
No one knew this plant would become a weed of horror.
The weed grows outward in every direction (north, south, east, west) and can form ground mats eight feet thick. Sounds pretty cushiony, but I wouldn’t want to step or walk in it. There’s no telling what is beneath the mass.
The climbing, twining vines can become 10 inches or more in diameter. The semi-woody plant is said to have growth rings like trees.
How is the Southeast attempting to control the weed?
Mowing and herbicides are the most common ways to control and decrease encroachments. Goats and sheep also do a good job in the control arena.
Although it is difficult to imagine the kudzu as a side item for Sunday dinner, everything except the vine is edible.
The leafy greens may be used in salads, baked in casseroles, and cooked like collard greens.
Sounds like good eating?
From July to September, kudzu produces fragmented purple flowers that smell like grapes. The flowers may be used in jellies, jams, syrups, and other things.
Americans may not eat the plant, but other countries and cultures have great uses for the extraordinary plant.
Japanese merchants ground the tuberous kudzu roots into flour sold in Asian health and grocery stores in America. Kudzu roots can grow depths of 12 feet and weigh hundreds of pounds based on the age of the growth. The roots are enriched in protein, iron, fiber, and other nutrients.
Various grazing animals eat kudzu, which was classified as a weed by the USDA in 1970 and was removed from the list of recommended cover plants decades earlier.
The Chinese have also used the lively weed for medical purposes.
Kudzu continues to strive in America.
Too bad kudzu doesn’t taste like chicken.