U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
America's National Wildlife Refuge System
Volunteers and Invasive Plants: Learning and Lending a Hand
Kudzu Origin
Kudzu was introduced from Japan to the United States at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition in 1876 as an ornamental and a forage crop plant. The Civilian Conservation Corps and southern farmers planted kudzu to reduce soil erosion.
Kudzu leaf and flower
Kudzu cloaking vegetation
Photo credit: DJ Moorhead/Univ. of Georgia (left)
K Britton/USDA FS (right)
www.forestryimages.org
Reference
Swearingen J, Reshetiloff K, Slattery B, Zwicker S. 2002. Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas. http://www.invasive.org/eastern/midatlantic. Accessed 2006 Aug 21.