Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Fabales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Pueraria montana var. lobata
FAMILY
Fabaceae
Go to FSUS key
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.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Pueraria montana var. lobata
FAMILY
Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Pueraria montana var. lobata
SYNONYMOUS WITH Native & naturalized Leguminosae (Fabaceae) of the US (Isely, 1998)
Pueraria montana var. lobata
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, 1938)
Pueraria thunbergiana
COMMON NAME:
Kudzu, Foot-a-Day
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA / Selected Weeds of the US. 1970 swus_page_237
)
JK Marlow jkm0402f_27
February Greenville County SC
Roadside
)
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 (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
COMPARE
leaves of Poison Ivy and others confused with it
)
JK Marlow jkm150724_541
July Pickens County SC
Doodle Trail
)
Ben Geer Keys bgk1171_b
August
)
JK Marlow jkm210819_2914
August Greenville County SC
Flowers on bracted short hairy pedicels, opening from base of raceme to top, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm210819_2915
August Greenville County SC
Leaflets usually slightly lobed (unless in shade), and with pointed tips, per Nonnative Invasive Plants of Southern Forests (Miller, 2003).
)
JK Marlow jkm210819_2917
August Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm210819_2919
August Greenville County SC
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_pueraria_lobata
September
)
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 (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
Steve Marlow snm140905_132
September Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm0310d_11
October Pickens County SC
Roadside
)
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 (Miller & Miller, 2005).
)
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 (Miller, 2003).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Pueraria montana var. lobata
FAMILY
Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Pueraria montana var. lobata
FAMILY
Fabaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Pueraria montana var. lobata
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Native & naturalized Leguminosae (Fabaceae) of the US (Isely, 1998)
Pueraria montana var. lobata
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, 1938)
Pueraria thunbergiana
1171
Woody vine
Perennial
Habitat: Roadsides, waste areas, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: east Asia
Common
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
This plant is causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:
- Alabama Invasive Plant Council, 2012
- Georgia Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2006
- Kentucky Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2013
- NC Department of Transportation
- SC Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2014
- Tennessee Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2009
- US Fish & Wildlife Service
- US Forest Service Southern Research Station
- Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, 2014
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!
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005) p284
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p402
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p524
- Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007) p218
- A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests (Miller, Chambliss, & Lowenstein, 2010) p068
- Invasive Exotic Plants of North Carolina (Smith, 2008) p047
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p080
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p345
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p138
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p176
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p07
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p298
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p258
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p077
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p336
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
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