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Cultivating Kudzu: The Soil Conservation Service And The Kudzu Distribution Program, Mart A. Stewart

History Faculty and Staff Publications

Kudzu (Pueraria lobata; formerly jR thunbergiana) , which had been cultivated in Japan for centuries, made its appearance in the United States in 1876 at the Japanese pavilion at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition and was introduced to southerners at the Japanese pavilion at the New Orleans Exposition of 1884-1886. Because of its luxuriant, rapid growth, broad and layered leaves, and lovely purple or magenta wisteria-like flowers, it soon gained popularity as a shade plant and became known as the "porch vine." By early in this century, some farmers were growing kudzu as a forage crop, mainly because of the indefatigable …