Kudzu - A Very Wicked Plant

Kudzu, was first brought to the US during the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876. It quickly took over the south. We made this video for the Wicked Plants display at the NC Arboretum. Watch all our wicked plant videos at: www.untamedscience.com/wickedp...

[@thelmabukikun1485]

Kudzu can help millions of people with alcohol addiction. It is indeed a blessing in disguise

[@gwenbrock9672]

It makes amazing paperl Cannot believe it is not harvested for that; The root is a great starch that can be used as a binder for the paper...Beautiful quit fighting it use it

[@ellaboobella8770]

You wouldn’t say that if you saw what it’s done to the environment by destroying trees and preventing native plants to grow… all necessary to sustain our native wildlife. There is NOTHING that keeps it in check.

[@FidelityElectric]

I planted three crowns in my backyard in April of 2020. That stuff is pretty amazing at how fast it grows especially when you fertilize and water it. Now I have a pack of deer that camp on it every night and in the mornings they eat all of the sprouts they can reach keeping it tidy and under control.

[@beanchanged]

Kudzu is FOOD. You can eat every part of the plant except the vine. Even the root is cooked and eaten like a potato. It’s FOOD! How is wild growing food bad??? We aren’t eating like we should!

[@thonaker1]

The sheer survival power of this plant is a blessing. It is a food source, and can be maintained by goat. It can grow in tough drought conditions. The "invasive" nature of some plants, are actually strengths. This plant can be used. Liken it to the hardiness of blackberry. These are the type of plants that will be there regardless if your hard to grow plants make it. It's like the asparagus beans I planted this year. Easy to grow, and they are still producing nicely even in this cooler October weather, our fall here in Southwest Virginia. Think about how hard people try to grow Dogwood trees, when the hardy mimosa tree is a breeze to grow, and it's beautiful, giving a nice tropical like look. Vdot here, goes by and sprays the Kudzu with weed killer. The best thing they can do to control it, and protect the environment from toxic sprays, is simply harvest it, and use it. But, government agencies are too stupid to realize it. They could profit off of it. I doubt we will be killing it off, but we can benefit from it. Eat it, it is a survival food. Don't eat the seeds and pods though.

[@brucegruy7312]

hey, someone monetized kale!!

[@thornwarbler]

That stuff would grow on the moon

[@CharlotteFairchild]

I wanted them to try in space and also in Antarctica. Kudzu makes ozone. How many plants and trees create ozone?

[@Meeshtarkeeko]

Who else is here because Joe Rogan talked about it with Duncan Trussell

[@docducttape9270]

I'm here because when I lived in Gastonia NC the shit was devouring EVERYTHING. I'm talking claiming 60 ft trees enveloping them and strangling them to death easily, and quickly. Whole wooded areas and buildings covered in this stuff for as far as you can see.

[@opjandhippies]

Edible (starch) Medicinal (isoflavone) Material (basket)

[@ciresi43]

We should try to turn it into a biofuel, reducing our dependency on foreign oil.

[@casswaa3847]

Invasive species yes, impossible to find them all

[@darnelljr7060]

Kudzu is awesome

[@nameless1016]

mhmm. makes the world look greener

[@ashevillecat]

It is disingenuous to say that Kudzu "took over the South". Kudzu is mainly limited to disturbed sites, especially roadsides, and is rare elsewhere. Many people who travel in the South will see a lot of it as they drive along highways and might assume it is pervasive, but it is not.

[@sadariuslewis9757]

Another south boy .....welcome 🤠

[@affirmativeaction1]

People are claiming that it has taken hold in Texas and Oklahoma but this is an extreme exaggeration. In over 60 years, I've never seen kudzu anywhere in Texas. Except for the Gulf coast, Texas is mostly too dry for it to ever establish. I would think it would be even harder for it to establish in Oklahoma.

[@nope...........]

@Flicks - Harvest it, consume it, and/or sell it. It is an edible plant. If ya really want to have fun, set some farm animals free on a field of it.

[@Dollapfin]

two words: biomass potential... Mix this with giant reed and you can produce energy like a fucking solar panel.

[@beatricewoods3113]

Grow so fast if you stand still long enough it'll cover you up.

[@affirmativeaction1]

hahaha!

[@CharlotteFairchild]

David G. Fairchild married Marion Bell, a daughter of Alexander Graham Bell. Fairchild was the photographer for National Geographic for its first 2 years. He was also a scientist who worked in the USDA, bringing 200,000+ plants to the USA. Look up Charlotte Fairchild kudzu Covered Land, and Kudzilla, and then look up The Book of Kudzu by William Shurtleff (free on Google Books). I have 2 blogs about kudzu questions.

[@PneumaticFrog]

Got a link to the blog?

[@CharlotteFairchild]

@@PneumaticFrog google my name and blogspot.

[@iIO_OIi]

This would be a great crop to compost for more valuable crops... I wonder what hydroponics would do for it... albeit it's a bit large, but still, hydroponics generally increases productivity largely, in addition I live in southern California, so I doubt it'd slow down much in the winter, if you could call what we have winter, though bamboo or a few trees may be better or complimentary options, thinking about it, I wonder why I'd need compost if I'd already be growing the to-be-composted crop using hydroponics, I should check how the nutrient substances are made, may e compost could be of use to synthesize that stuff.

[@jakewiley7291]

I didn't know kudzu could spread that long.

[@bronteefuss]

cool

[@haarstad88]

GOAT

[@BillyShamsReal]

Can't believe I just saw a guy get vored by the kudzu

[@e-justice3752]

Kuzu has a high protein content. Good quality feed.😃

[@peaceandlove5214]

Do sheep eat it?

[@jonallie1117]

Here's an idea for Kudzu. Use prison inmates - start a goat farm at the prison then inmates take the goats to eat the Kudzu. After goats eat up an area then other inmates have to dig up all of the roots and make herbs, starch, breading, kudzu potatoes etc. And others can pick and package the leaves and package for salad type food. Of course, make sure they don't pick poison ivy. Also, prepare the vines for making baskets and/or rope then send to a factory for that purpose and train the inmates to make everything out of this Kudzu then when they get out of prison they have a free resource for making money - even offer company contracts for those whom did a good job upon their release from prison.

[@Artisticwhit]

Ya'll just do your research on how to work with it resposibly and eat it. Instead of seeing problems all the time we need to see the solutions right in front of us. This could feed so many people. If there's a will there's a way. ✊💖✌

[@brucegruy7312]

didn’t john ritter sell educational vhs tapes titled that - except “A” in place of “Way”?

[@michaelmiller7396]

if we ate it we would have unlimited fast growing food

[@chem22691]

I wonder what this exotic plant has done to deserve the tag "wicked." All it has ever done was allow itself (as if it had any choice) to be brought by some Americans from Japan. I think it is the person who brought it to your country that deserves to be called "ignorant."

[@nameless1016]

invasive can potentiallly be wicked. look at what weve done to eden...kinda crazy how the fertile land is covered with dry death, concrete, and asphalt.

[@wordart_guian]

Kudzu is the villain from Night of the Zefirottes

[@kentisann]

Eat it, eat it, eat it....

[@samnicholson5051]

Who else is here because they liked the cover of REMs "Murmur"?

[@onebigkahuna69]

I'm just wondering why cattle and goat Farmers don't use it as a food source.?A foot a day?Grass doesn't grow at that rate?Less Acreage more stock per Acre.?

[@robnelsonfilms]

Well, that's why it was originally introduced. It has problems though - mostly that it takes over TOO MUCH. It's hard to control.

[@onebigkahuna69]

I know i live in Eastern NC and its pretty bad here.

[@joegilly1523]

This stuff sounds like the bambo in how fast it can grow . A real bitch to get rid of I bet also

[@kyotosinfinity5959]

can I smoke it?

[@bridittebargeot2679]

wicked? what does that mean? i'm not an englisch speaker.

[@ava_likes_icecream3972]

Briditte Bargeot It means bad

[@themonsterbaby]

Evil

[@lenering1084]

There is not such thing as a wicked plant. Kudzu just need management

[@pragmaticvidster]

The way he pronounces his 'S' is driving me crazy!

[@raphlvlogs271]

a giant climbing clover.

[@MrHwilRRR]

Well then... that's pretty scary. xD

[@Nawaf-ko9lo]

اساس

[@albertafarmer8638]

Just bring in the livestock!

[@greennin]

Use that shit to create biofuel

[@adehlynn]

Who else is here from online school?

[@aylaspencer7898]

me lol

[@michaelmiller7396]

me too

[@ellymackenzie8405]

Dumb ways to die, so many dumb whys to die, like getting slowly turned into a bush by kudzu. ;)

[@kaisermuto]

Poor Americans don't know how tto use the kudzu for products. In first place, Kudzu pronunciation is wrong. Japanese call it as kuuzu.. Kudzu has rich in nutrition. the nutrition part is its root. Jaoanese farmer makes high quality starch from kudzu. EXPORT KUDZU POWDER TO JAPAN. Japan will buy Amerikan Kudzu.

[@heavenrender4203]

boring... yeet this was really informational.. watch more videos everyday about kudzu.. funny part was when oh dude fell on his neck

[@Rin-le7cx]

Goats will eat them

[@futureshock382]

lol cope