What is Kudzu?
By Alice Henry
@IreneVincent (15960)
United States
December 6, 2015 8:33pm CST
Tens of thousands of people actually visit Antarctica each year. Who knew? I did not realize this. Personally, I have no desire to go there at all, so when I heard this report on TV, I was very surprised.
What surprised me even more was the fact that the area's native ecology is being threatened by invasive, nonindigenous species. WHAT? The fact is, that all these visitors accidently carry an average of about 10 plant seeds each, from wherever they came from, often attached to their boots or bags.
So now, populations of alien plant species have already been discovered in the Western Antarctic Peninsula. This migration of alien species is causing native species to die off and will eventually threaten the entire area, according to this report. Again. Who knew?
It reminds me of another plant, Kudzu, that was introduced in this country because of its fast growing abilities and it was used after road construction to plant and grow quickly on bare ground near the highways to prevent erosion. This plant though, has proved to be a curse, smothering native plants and trees. You can see it everywhere, hanging from the trees and bushes all up and down the Interstate network of highways.
Humans just don't seem to realize that these things can inadvertently threaten the natural ecology and cause more harm than good. Scientists are just now realizing the threat to Antarctica, but it is already TOO LATE to reverse the growth.
What do you think?
1 response
@moffittjc (128835)
• Gainesville, Florida
7 Dec 15
It is amazing when you are driving on the highways to look off to the side of the roads and see how kudzu has completely taken over everything. It's really sad that it is destroying all the native trees and plants, but many communities now have plans in place to address the kudzu threat. Kudzu isn't common here in Florida, but we do have another invasive vine called the air potato that spreads just as quickly as kudzu. Our city has an event every year where about a thousand volunteers fan out through all the woods and forests in our city and clear out all the air potato vines.
1 person likes this
@IreneVincent (15960)
• United States
7 Dec 15
I have never heard of the air potato vines. Is it like the moss that hangs in the trees? You see what we can learn from each other on MyLot? These are the kind of discussions I really enjoy. Tell me more about the air potato. Do potatoes grow on it, really? Or how did it get that name? I've been to FL many times, but no one has ever told me about this vine. I may have seen it but not recognized what it was.
@moffittjc (128835)
• Gainesville, Florida
7 Dec 15
@IreneVincent The air potato vines look a little bit like kudzu, but the leaves are not quite as big. Yes, "potatoes" grow on the vines, hence where the name comes from. The tubers fall off the vines and then grow into new vines. One vine can grow and drop hundreds of air potatoes, so you see how it can spread very quickly! The bad part is the tubers taste horrible, so they aren't really edible, so nothing eats them, which in turn means they can continue to grow at a crazy fast rate! A promising sign is the air potato beetle, which researchers at the University of Florida have been studying for years to make sure are safe to release into the US (the plant and beetle are not native to the US). The government finally approved the beetle to be released last year, and they devour the vines like crazy, so the results so far are very promising in controlling the spread of the vine.


