Kudzu Root Slices

Kudzu Root – Pueraria montana var. lobata

Kudzu is a species of plant in the botanical family Fabaceae. At least three sub-species (alternatively called varieties) are known. known as a climbing vine in the pea family. It is closely related to other species in the genus Pueraria (P. edulis and P. phaseoloides) and the common name kudzu is used for all of these species and hybrids between them. The morphological differences between them are subtle, they can breed with each other, and it appears that introduced kudzu populations in the United States have ancestry from more than one of the species.

It is native to southern Japan and southeast China, and was brought to the Unites States in 1876. It was introduced to the southern states to help with soil erosion. Unfortunately, Kudzu spread so easily and quickly that it took over farms and buildings.  It was known to some as “the vine that ate the south.”

Country of origin: China