14 Jan Kudzu
Pueria lobata
This plant has taken over entire towns in America.
We have had only one known reporting as of
2008. It is one of the most critical potential threats
to Sydney riparian zones and bushland. Extremely
difficult to remove once established with hardy
tubers and rapid growth rate. Beware of this plant.
Family: Fabaceae
Origin: South America
Habit: Perennial climber with twining stems to 6m on supporting
vegetation
Leaves: Oblong – triangular leaves, with finger-like glands on the
upper surface, grow at right angles to the stalk.
Flowers: Perfumed tubular white flowers late spring to autumn.
Sap a milky, sticky latex.
Fruit: Leaves and pear-shaped fruit pods are greyish, covered in
fine hairs. When the pods turn brown and split, they release
thousands of tiny black seeds with a tuft of silky white hairs.
Roots: Expansive root system with crowns and deep tap root.
Dispersal: Stolons root at the nodes to form new plants by rhizomes.
Also seeds in pods.
Control: Vital to dig out all tubers; also use skirting technique.
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- Paul Marynissen
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- Paul Marynissen