Kudzu Root - All Natural - Organic Grown - 1/2 Lb.

$6.99

Kudzu Root - All Natural - Organic Grown - 1/2 Lb.

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Kudzu was introduced to the United States in 1876 at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Countries were invited to build exhibits to celebrate the 100th birthday of the U.S. The Japanese government constructed a beautiful garden filled with plants from their country. The large leaves and sweet-smelling blooms of kudzu captured the imagination of American gardeners who used the plant for ornamental purposes.

Kudzu has shown some promising results in studies, although the mechanisms through which it works remain unclear. The plant shows an ability to both decreases the amount of alcohol a person drinks, and help prevent hangovers.

Kudzu increases circulation, an action that tends to reduce muscle pain and stiffness, and increases blood flow through the coronary arteries. One kudzu compound is a beta-blocker, which reduces a racing pulse induced by stress. It has traditionally been used for respiratory infections.

Edith Edwards makes deep-fried kudzu leaves, kudzu quiche, and many other kudzu dishes. She found recipes in The Book of Kudzu: A Culinary and Healing Guide by William Shurtleff and Akiko Aoyagi, and thought this was a good use for a plentiful resource. She has demonstrated kudzu cooking for clubs, schools, and visitors to the Knoxville World's Fair.

Florida nursery operators, Charles and Lillie Pleas, discovered that animals would eat the plant and promoted its use for forage in the 1920s. Their Glen Arden Nursery in Chipley sold kudzu plants through the mail. A historical marker there proudly proclaims "Kudzu Developed Here."

During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the Soil Conservation Service promoted kudzu for erosion control. Hundreds of young men were given work planting kudzu through the Civilian Conservation Corps. Farmers were paid as much as eight dollars an acre as incentive to plant fields of the vines in the 1940s.

Kudzu, a fast-growing plant often referred to as "the vine that ate the South" may be more than just a big, green nuisance.

What is Kudzu you say? Its an amazing plant. So amazing that some say its an alien species. The Japanese love it, but it grows normal in Japan. In the American South its a predator.

Kudzu grows more than 7 feet (more than 2 meters) meters a week. Almost nothing stops it. It takes 10 to 15 years to control a Kudzu patch – even with chemicals. Effective herbicides (such as napalm and agent orange) often destroy the soil. Of 12 known herbicides, 10 have no effect, and 2 make it grow better. It covers more than 2.8 million square km of the American South. If it were not for winter, there would only be 40 American states. Patches often are 6+ miles (10+ kilometers) long.