Puerariamontana var. lobata (Willd.) Maesen & S. Almeida
Description from Invasive.org
Appearance
Pueraria montana var. lobata is a climbing, deciduous vine capable of reaching lengths of over 100 ft. (30.5 m) in a single season. Its fleshy tap roots can reach 7 in. (18 cm) in width and grow to 9 ft. (3.8 m) deep. These roots can weigh up to 400 lbs. (180 kg).
Foliage
Leaves are alternate, compound (with three, usually lobed, leaflets), hairy underneath and up to 5.4 in. (15 cm) long.
Flowers
Flowering occurs in midsummer, when 0.5 in. (1.3 cm) long, purple, fragrant flowers hang, in clusters, in the axils of the leaves.
Fruit
Fruit are brown, hairy, flat, 3 in. (7.6 cm) long, 0.3 in. (0.8 cm) wide seed pods. Each pod can contain 3-10 hard seeds.
Ecological Threat
Preferred habitat includes open, disturbed areas such as roadsides, right-of-ways, forest edges, and old fields. Pueraria montana var. lobata often grows over, shades out and kills all other vegetation, including trees. It is native to Asia and was first introduced into the United States in 1876 at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. It was widely planted throughout the eastern United States in an attempt to control erosion.
Infestation Kudzu kills trees by shading them and spreads inexorably, mostly through soil movement and vegetative growth
Kerry Britton, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage
Feature(s) Golden hairy young vines and silvery backside of leaflet in July
James H. Miller, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage
Research four years after planted on eroded field in 1939
USDA NRCS , USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage
Research cattle grazing on field interplanted with caley pear to extend grazing in 1949
USDA NRCS , USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage
Infestation Completely covering a road cut-through. Floyd County, KY.
Chris Evans, University of Illinois, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage
Infestation Winter scene of vines draped in tree crowns. Macon, Georgia
David J. Moorhead, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage
Feature(s) Sprouts developing at root crowns in April following a winter burn.
David J. Moorhead, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org Additional Resolutions & Image Usage