Kudzu: The Vine That Covered The South In Darkness

The vine that blocked out the sun.
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SOCIAL MEDIA
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CREDITS
Created by Dylan Dubeau
Executive Producer, Director, and Director of Photography: Dylan Dubeau
Host: Tasha the Amazon
Editors: Cat Senior and Jim Pitts
Researcher, Producer: Andres Salazar
Writer: Lauren Greenwood
Camera Operator: Colin Cooper
Thumbnail courtesy of:
Katie Ashdown - flic.kr/p/2P8ARW
CC BY 2.0 - bit.ly/3iXBVZp - No Changes
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Exploring the World of Plants and Fungi

[@cravensean]

I once told a pal, "Most parts of kudzu are edible," and she said, "Nobody wants to eat that much kudzu."

[@metaphosV]

You don't know no Chinese LOL

[@cravensean]

Nope. I'm an ignorant monoglot who has been failed by his educational system. What's your excuse?@@metaphosV

[@ellaboobella8770]

Except woodchucks. Ours love the stuff. 😂

[@deadlydingus1138]

Kudzu is one of those plants that I think should be a pokemon.

[@marcoguenza2329]

You should definetely play Space Station 13 as a botanist

[@nicklindberg90]

Kudzu used Vine Whip!

[@seguuro]

Just like Sudowoodo

[@kingmonster]

Regional Evolution for Tangrowth.

[@cloudstrife532220]

Grass/Dark

[@ProjectPhysX]

Fast-groing plants are insane. I've seen this with the pumpkin plants in our garden. 30cm growth per day, you can literally see it move under the magnifying glass.

[@direfranchement]

Yes but pumpkin plants are good. Kudzu is of the devil.

[@JeanneBook]

Those plants are key in the apocalypse, they would set the vibe.

[@drillerdev4624]

@@direfranchement apparently it can be eaten both by humans and livestock. So maybe all we need are recipes to promote. What about stir fried organic beef (kudzu fed) with kudzu leaves and a side serving of roasted kudzu roots?

[@direfranchement]

@@drillerdev4624 No, it’s poison.

[@safron2442]

@@direfranchement No it isn't. kudzu leaves can be fried and eaten and the young stems can be peeled and eaten raw. It actually tastes pretty decent, has a mild bean/peanut flavor.

[@Obalatan2010]

I wish you'd also mentioned that it makes really good forage for ruminants and they can ruin even established stands in a few years. The leaves are also edible, and as you point out, the vines make good fibre for baskets, paper, or textiles. It's a good plant that needs keeping in check rather than an out-and-out noxious agent.

[@TealCheetah]

have you ever eaten the leaves?

[@rebeccarobinson8174]

I think I want to add this plant to this fictional place I made up

[@Endquire]

It seems like kudzu could be an exceptional resource that we are failing to use properly. This seems especially so as the loss of top soil and the real existential threats to agriculture loom. People really don't know how actually precarious our existence is.

[@luddity]

Also, it's a great way to keep your goats well-fed and happy. No herbicides needed.

[@Rainkit]

Other legumes could achieve the same results and not be horrifically invasive. This video doesn't property convey how hard it is to control this plant. Once established it takes years to eliminate and its fast growth habit means that it's almost impossible to control unless you cut it every single day. Heck, roundup doesn't kill this thing. My state's conservation department recommends Tordon 101 and Veteran 720. And of course once it escapes is causes massive ecological damage. I've seen state parks have to tear out entire sections of forest to control this plant, and I live in a state where the vine can only grow during summer because the winter get cold enough to kill it back to the roots. Not cold enough to kill the roots though, so it just comes back.

[@swayback7375]

@@Rainkitsame, I used to associate kudzu with the Deep South but it’s a real problem in Kentucky, it burns back but still once mature it will completely curtain large chunks of woodland, once it reaches the canopy of a woodland it shade everything beneath it, allowing it exponentially more coverage. I really think that we should be paying vastly more attention to invasive plants, it really seems vital to me, it may be too late already, but with more funding, newer tech like drones and ai to find it and ID, and gps mark it then humans deal with it BEFORE it devastates the countryside. Priorities.

[@WalterWhiteFootballSharing]

@@luddity Too bad America doesn't appreciate goat meat and goat cheeses. There's a lot more then that chevre in the salad we call 'goat cheese' like calling parmesano reggiano 'cow cheese' as if there aren't hundreds. Kudzu could fuel a goat industry for export I guess. We suck, the world has so much good goat cuisine. Curry goat is fire if you got jamaican neighborhoods.

[@bmiles4131]

@@Rainkit I was just fighting native vines in my yard all morning. When she said it’s roots go down 9 ft I was horrified. You’d have to bulldoze the area or just have goats constantly eating it (so no native plants could grow there).

[@rklein]

Goats, that what we used to completely and easily wipe out all of it in a 1200 acre natural area in middle Tennessee. Put a temporary fence around the area with the kudzu and put the goats in there. Problem solved. They eat it roots and all.

[@ikeybertso]

Exactly. Kudzu is an edible and nutritious forage. Feed it to livestock.

[@ForneverstarOfficial]

Lmao ngl if they put goats all over the state/national parks it'd make them even better too 😂

[@DanGamingFan2406]

Down here in the Carolinas, that stuff is just about EVERYWHERE. Hardly an empty lot without it at least bordering the property. And in the forests along certain highways, it's all you can see! My relatives up in the mountains all say it's looks beautiful, but I know better.

[@ledwards7171]

Going across the mountain from Erwin Tennessee to the family homestead it just covers everything.... it's sad to see such beautiful wilderness choked out by this stuff.

[@Kalisis07]

Kudzu is literally everywhere in Georgia. I'm so used to seeing it here, it would probably be weird NOT to see it. I never heard of bees making grape tasting honey off of it though. I wanna try that out.

[@MRB1199]

Im from ny I would love to see this is person ......what do ppl do down there about it ?

[@Kalisis07]

@@MRB1199 Most people just leave it alone. It doesn't really affect most people day to day life. It's mostly farmers and people with large plots of land

[@EmoDKTsuchiya]

Gwinnett and Walton

[@d.b.2215]

In Vietnam we grind the root into a starchy powder (bột sắn dây) and make a drink of it. It's supposed to be "cooling" for your body (i.e. boosting the "yin" side of things), and thus is good for treating inflammation and for general cooling down in the summer.

[@rosehawke2577]

There's a problem with the Kudzu Bug. It doesn't just eat kudzu. It likes ANYTHING in the legume family, including green beans as I found out one year. I had no idea what this new to me bug was that were covering my vines. I try to garden organically as much as possible, but organics wasn't cutting it for this beast. I don't have a big garden, but I would still normally get many meals from my beans. That year I only got one. The next year I planted shrub beans and covered them with mesh. I wasn't taking any chances.

[@JBFJBFJBF]

Have you been able to continue growing your legumes without pesticides?

[@nostalgiakarlk.f.7386]

Thank you so much for talking about this invasive and threatening species. I personally think there should be organizations here in the south dedicated to eradicating kudzu, as well as the similarly invasive English ivy.

[@AutumnF]

As a southerner , kudzu is the bane of my existence. You’ll be trying to walk through a forest and can’t go any further because of the stupidly thick kudzu. I’d gladly sign a petition to make an anti-kudzu organization lol

[@22espec]

Yeah, but that would need money which mean tax money and... well we all know how they love raising tax money in the south.

[@direfranchement]

Yes, let’s form an anti-Kudzu coalition.

[@abelardogreen]

The Japanese could event kudzu killing robot. That would be nice m

[@abelardogreen]

@@GeorgeWashingtonLaserMusket this is the second time I've done that this week. I need to change the font size on my phone.

[@DarthVidor37]

Kudzu please keep these fabulous videos coming? Thank you, have a nice day.

[@animalogic]

Ba dum tss 🥁

[@SlapstickGenius23]

Kudzu can be made into sweets. There’s Kuzumochi, a Japanese sweet made out of the plant.

[@Kiraiko44]

I grew up in AL and it would cover EVERYTHING if you let it, I remember entire fields and hillsides and old buildings being covered in it. They've been fighting back against it a lot more since I was a kid but it's still a problem.

[@luddity]

The south needs more goats to keep it pruned back.

[@gnamedreagan9497]

The house I live in was pretty much abandoned for like 3-4 years with no on keeping it in check that stuff was covering a carport and up around the house

[@MastaBroshiX]

Uncle jimbob was a great man until he did it for the vine, he hasn't been seen in years 😭

[@Rainkit]

I live in Missouri and even though the winters get too cold for it to fully take over, you can still find kudzu near major cities. This plant is a nightmare. Its difficult to control and even harder to kill. Kudzu and Japanese honeysuckle both take the crown as the worst invasives in this state due to how hard it is to eliminate them. To the point where i am in awe when i visit a state park that doesn't have either of those plants, because I know how much work that little detail implies.

[@aisadal2521]

I remember reading about the kudzu plant when I took the SATs. Loved reading about it story, and culinary uses! 🥰

[@shadowscribe]

It is SO eerie to drive down a kudzu invested landscape. Even in the trees it looks wrong.

[@gnamedreagan9497]

The trees look to be getting smothered to death it makes a great habitat for raccoons opossums and skunks

[@agerven]

Oh no, Kudzu. Not only it could, but it can and surely will! When we bought our first house, a very very very fine house, with two cats in the yard and a shed in the garden, we found the shed to be covered in ivy, or so we thought. But no, it was mighty Kudzu, blocking the entrance through the door, shading the windows and whatnot. First we hacked and cut and sawed the door free, so it could be seen and opened. Then we found the Kudzu had completely demolished and torn apart the roof. So we spent some nice weekends freeing the shed from all that stuff, which was mostly a very rewarding task. After having the roof repaired, we kept watch for the slightest sign of new Kudzu growing. This plant is probably the single good reason to own a machete in the Netherlands.

[@bobmorgan476]

In North Carolina, we pronounce the plant’s names as “kudd-zoo” as opposed to “could-zoo”, the way Tasha said it. I grew up with the plant as part of the backdrop in my rural town, but I was surprised to find out this defining feature of the southern landscape wasn’t introduced until the twentieth century. I’ve seen the Japanese kudzu bug here as well, although I’ve heard it also attacks soybean crops.

[@McStealy]

We have these in the Caribbean and they are MADDENING!! Good to know there's a use for them.

[@Chichi-sl2mq]

Tasha the Amazon is my favourite Animalogic presenter. She is so quirky. Honestly you are the coolest teacher on KZbin.

[@jf_kein_k8590]

Kudzu could just be harvested as food for humans and animals. Or just lead herds of cows/goats/sheep to such places.

[@LevineLawrence]

It would be a great green manure feed for biogas digesters and vermicompost pits

[@Sariss1984]

Kudzu is very invasive here in sub tropical and tropical Australia. Darn neighbours have it growing all over their yard, I'm forever spraying it to kill it since it grows so fast in hot and humid weather.

[@brianmoore1164]

That one picture towards the end shows the best way to control it. Let the cows get to it. They are wild for Kudzu and then you can eat the steaks!

[@CrownofMischief]

And goats.

[@junglelane]

Tropical kudzu is one of five vines I constantly fight on my farm. Takes over really fast.

[@EmilySmirleGURPS]

I'd love to hear about the genus of Banksia from Australia! I grew up on stories including The Banksia Boys, animated talking seed pods of Banksia bushes (Banksia marginata has a great example) and oooof, nightmare fuel.

[@zachsmith3376]

During an exceptional ice and snow storm in Alabama my brother and I could walk across it for yards at a time, before falling through.

[@judetwee]

I grew up in Texas and my mom loses her mind any time she sees kudzu where we live now (....which is not the south, as kudzu is spreading west), we have a tiny infestation that refuses to be fully destroyed...

[@user-bc1dv8jj6d]

In Japan, kudzu is deeply rooted in the culture, both as a medicine and a sweet. Kakkonto(葛根湯), perhaps the best known Chinese herbal medicine, is made from kudzu. Kudzukiri(葛切り), Kudzu mochi(葛餅) and Kudzuyu(葛湯)are traditional and popular foods, although these days they may not be made from real kudzu.

[@rebeccarobinson8174]

Can doughnuts and other things be made form kudzu?

[@ytanaka257]

⁠@@rebeccarobinson8174 It's an ingredient like gelatin and cornstarch.

[@Skclassified]

I’ve never seen a kudzu flower before. I’ll have to keep an eye out for it. Don’t know how I missed it the woods next to the highway have been completely eaten by them.

[@HeavilyCensoredKitty]

Just like so many other things in life the Flamethrower might just be the answer.

[@KenFullman]

For most other things the chainsaw is your friend.

[@bullettime1116]

Then the kudzu comes back twice as fast with all of the ash

[@Guydude777]

While I shake my head whenever there's kudzu wordplay, it's still really funny.

[@animalogic]

Kudzu be more specific?

[@larissabrantley9263]

it may be invasive but it is so beautiful. i remember road tripping through North Carolina and seeing it for the first time along the highway, just covering valleys and trees. its so ethereal, i was like "woah"

[@user-sw1nv7qz2c]

Yup. Love it 😊

[@GardenUPLandscape]

I'd love to hear your take on Japanese Knotweed! Also thank you so much for including bloopers! You make me feel so much better about my scripted videos 🤣🤣🤣 I so much prefer winging it to scripts!

[@LukaOnline]

Hey superstar, I'm Luka, the bush regeneration manager at Reforest Now, we are a rainforest restoration charity in Byron Bay, Australia. My current nemesis is Anredera Cordifolia or Madeira vine. I would love to see one of your amazing videos covering this literal demon of a plant. It has alarming similarities to Kudzu. I'm locked in a headed conflict with it as it's invading some of our ancient rainforest remnants. Hoping you might dig up some handy hints to help us save some of these old growth giants from being smothered. Love your content and looking forward to what you have next

[@katherinel8661]

Can you do an episode focusing on the way people use kudzu in clothing and cuisine?

[@D_A42]

I worked as a land surveyor in the South. Kudzu has been the bane of my existence for many years. It is awful. It is even worse when the vine dies. Then it becomes even more difficult to cut it up with a machete.

[@taylor_green_9]

One question: What will happen with the kudzu-eating bugs if they do eradicate all the kudzu?

[@quitlife9279]

Evolve to eat human flesh.

[@islandgurl4927]

​​@@quitlife9279ooooo!!! 😳😁

[@Randoplants]

Please talk about Japanese Knotweed, which is a less well known invasive

[@horaciokanashiro-hv2zn]

Is it the one that is a plague in the UK?

[@sauravsarkar419]

They say kudzu will cover the whole world and this is how everything ends .... ' it is known .. "

[@fiberpoet6250]

I grew up with scenes like this. It’s like a cancer I do think it could be utilized tho but it’s vines are very fragile once dead so doesn’t have much use for making stuff outta them. It’s roots can be used as an anti-alcoholic tea. The leaves are edible for goats. I’ve seen ppl put a herd of goats on a kudzu patch and they can clear it over time. Pigs can dig out the roots Maybe it can be used for ethanol 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@CakeoftheMews]

I once looked up a map of where kudzu is invasive, and then looked up a map of states that seceded from the union and noticed they were a pretty close match. Naughty slave states get the invasive fast growing vine.

[@bdhanes]

❤😂 Fabulous! Informative and wonderful. OMG the outtakes! 😂

[@pauljames5826]

Kudzu is silently but surely moving NORTH - there are highway division areas in Northern Virginia that have become covered entirely - no kudzu bugs in sight YET!

[@mariebrown4458]

It's Funny How She Pronounced Kudzu😂😂😊😊Here In The South We Say Khuudzoo😊And Yes It's A Mess Here Snakes Love It And They Use To Say Don't Let Your Cows Get Into It Or You'll Have To Shoot Them To Get E'm Out Of It😂😂😂😂The Flowers Are Pretty And Smell Nice😊😊😊

[@thomascoleman594]

I'm dying laughing cause of the ending. A cat named Cyka is freaking PERFECT

[@InvisibleSquids]

Over the course of a week, I saw kudzu scale a high voltage power line tower. One evening, there was a loud bang outside, and when I went to check, it had reached one of the lowest lines, but the part that had made contact exploded from the water in it turning to steam. The next day, most of it had wilted and shriveled up. Then the forestry service came out with that helicopter dangling the long pole with saw blades on it, chopping back the kudzu and tree line

[@g4brielb0nfim]

Kudzu gives such a eire and sinister vide, I love it. The new hair is awesome btw

[@injunsun]

@Animallogic, Fun Facts: the young leaves are edible as a tender, cooked green, and the beans (rarely formed in the U.S. due to lack of a specialised pollinator) are also supposed to be about as good as edamame. The flowers smell STRONGLY of grape juice.

[@v.j.bartlett]

The crazy thing is Kudzu is an animal feed in the Orient so you could make double the profit by being paid to remove it from someone's property and paid again when you sell it to live stock farmers.

[@gonefishing3644]

Goats love to eat kudzu leaves. If a property is over-run with kudzu, install a sturdy wire mesh fence around the property, provide some drinking water and add a small herd of goats. Within six months or so, the vines will be trimmed as high as the goats can reach when standing on their hind legs with their front legs against a tree trunk. Soon the goats will eat the leafless kudzu vines as high as they can reach which will kill the out-of-reach vines in the treetops. Any new kudzu sprouts will also get eaten. My parents used to keep a small herd of less than a dozen goats so that their twenty-acre patch of woodland in Mississippi was kept free of kudzu. The goats did a good job of keeping the woodland free of kudzu and any kids born in the spring were mature enough to be sold in summer to those who wanted a young goat to slaughter and BBQ for a July 4th picnic.

[@Lem0n_23]

I love the out takes

[@erichtomanek4739]

Let's hope Big Cotton doesn't derail Small Kudzu in the clothing fibre business. Sad Hemp noises ........

[@jp1431]

Im from Puerto Rico and tht plant is alos everywhere down here. Sometimes it’s sad to see what was a beautiful lush jungle now slowly dying under that thing. Only time I have not seen that plant was when hurricane Maria came through and destroyed all vegetation and it looked like winter had finally come to PR, looked similar to West Virginia in the winter without snow.

[@lokiiago_x0x]

Purple grape-flavored honey? Yes please!

[@I.____.....__...__]

Indeed. Find a way to stop those bugs and bring in some more vines!!!

[@tare3312]

KUDZUUUU! I don't know if anyone else requested this but I did! So thanks Floralogic! I'm from the southern United States and just wanted to add that folks actually make jelly from this and it's quite good.

[@FreshSmog]

Looking forward to some more beautiful plants! Lupines or wisteria could be interesting 🤔

[@cartoonkenj2209]

Would be cool to see an episode on Amborella! It’s really unusual how taxonomically isolated it is!

[@williamsurname4669]

I think I've seen this in Maryland too. Quite invasive!

[@walterlangston4484]

Was out on a trail trying to film some trains and the kudzu has taking over the abandoned rail yard and mining town

[@dmarcouxbeatty374]

I have learned something new today. Thank you. I like kudzu. (I'm from Southern Arizona. Need I say more?) I've often wondered if kudzu could be used like hemp or flax. Bamboo and coconut hair are now being spun for threads and yarn. Food for bees is always good! Does it have any medicinal uses or essential oil use? If more of the plant could be eaten by humans or a winter silage for livestock? All of God's creations have a purpose or two. We just have to be clever enough to find it.

[@C-Mah]

Re outtakes, it is interesting how siamese cats get their colorful paws, nose, and ears.

[@xrgiok]

I enjoy bloopers even more than actual video!

[@kimbratton9620]

I love Animalogic!

[@MehOnCommenting]

Tasha and her blooper reels are my new fave!

[@r.awilliams9815]

In the Pacific Northwest, it's the Himalayan blackberry that's trying to take over. It's doing a good job of it too.

[@d4ro]

great animalogic episode, Tasha is the master of plant plans !!

[@andrewmedanich2844]

It has hybridized and started growing up North here in Indiana as well

[@yungo1rst]

the traditional treats sounds like a good way to incentivize clearing or harvesting the plant. otherwise maybe a biofuel maybe.

[@johncrocker4209]

I remember SixFlags in Atlanta leaning into the Kudzu takeover. Using it to cover pathways and provide shade.

[@Nikki0417]

Love how a kitten was apparently hanging out on this set. 😂

[@Charsept]

It's not as bad it was 15 years ago but this stuff is still all over the place. 4:27 That makes so much sense! I was wondering why it thinned out.

[@MammaStrega]

@animalogic I think you should use the knowledge you have on where Kudzu is located and your social medica following to get people to find the root of the plant and dig it up. * Benefit one, it won’t keep growing! If you then peel and boil the root and then cook it until it turns into a starch the starch alone is powerful for Migraine or Cluster Headache suffers. An additional thing that might help certain people is that consuming Kudzu regularly is supposed to be helpful to those with alcohol substance issues so; so essentially yes the plant looks and is annoying but it has many a good things about it for HUGE health benefits that the government doesn’t share…. Why let the plant that would stop so many pharmaceutical pill consumptions for migraines and headaches or take many away from large Alcohol companies and Rehab facilities when a natural gift given by Japan has been sitting there all this time with its secrets hidden. 🙏🏼 Definitely try it if you’re lucky enough to know where a plant is and can figure out where that amazing root is hiding!

[@MammaStrega]

Also what breed is your cat! She was so cute 😂😍

[@kanders7391]

In California, we have overgrowths of Thunbergia, Wisteria & regular ivy. It has been partially controlled by drought, though.

[@TheSayLifeCoach]

6:46 🥹😍 & Mississippian here! We learned about Kudzu in school & it’s origin! Great video! It covered soo many forests in my hometown. I grew up in a semi-rural area & it was beautiful. However, I understand how invasive it is too!

[@omegamanrad]

🤝 bloopers

[@HowdIEvenGetHere]

Tasha the Amazon is so awesome! Love her music, love her docs

[@blessedbeauty2293]

- 0:39 how many times did you have to cut && re do that line? Lolll I love it 😂❤

[@ChrispyNut]

Yep, knew there'd be out-takes for that opening before the opening had even finished. I suspect Lauren (script writer) knew this too. Meanie.

[@jasminnyack1724]

please talk about Fireweed "Chamaenerion angustifolium"

[@palidus]

shes lit of the oxygen the kudzu is producing

[@watchmecatchpike7145]

I would like a compilation of outtakes of just Tasha. When she turned into a daemon I almost spit my coffee out.

[@stevezielonko1386]

Last year i fought the battle of wisteria. It got a foothold because i didn't recognize the threat. This year the burning bush will be vanquished.

[@ZombieslayerLeena]

Miss Tasha, I almost pee’d laughing at your outtakes! You are a TRIP!! ❤😂

[@Gayoinion]

I always have memories of seeing it cover sides of highways in nc

[@imorca1994]

Maybe we can set up some lion fish dishes that use kudzu in a control-the-invasive-species bistro?

[@Ssss-xd8hb]

Could you talk about the pinus canariensis or canarian pine? I'm from La Palma, where they thrive, and I think they are such amazing plants. I would love to discover more about them.

[@scottargo2152]

I love the botany lessons but I'm here for the outtakes!

[@hypnoticmoai6509]

That filter you use over the stock pictures, it’s a little trippy

[@Skibbityboo0580]

My mom used to call it 'virginia creeper'.

[@SluttChops]

No. That's what she called your dad.

[@tygerm00n]

Virginia creeper is a completely different plant.

[@sassa82]

I love floralogic!❤

[@nunyabiznes33]

Please do a video about the morning glory family, from the humble sweet potato to the trippy tricolor.

[@rosecitytid1631]

I think I've seen some tiktok videos a while back about people taking cattle or goats to eat a bunch of Kudzu and there was none left when they were done

[@amandascreativeretreat4574]

Love the bloopers, so good.

[@lorinmoser7048]

In the south, everyone I know pronounces it “cud-zoo,” but Lafayette is also pronounced “Luh-Fay-ette”

[@vancakes4500]

Is nobody talking about her new gremlin best friend? 🐈😻

[@demetriusoconnor8149]

I would love to see what plants Tasha, the Amazon grows in her home and garden pretty pretty pretty please😅

[@spikegirls]

Can you talk about Tree of Heaven next? Another invasive plant - a super fast growing tree. When I moved into my house there were none in the yard and now there's like ten of them.

[@pamelamays4186]

Kudzu sounds like a creature that would battle Godzilla.🦖