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''Pueraria montana'' is a species of plant in the botanical family Fabaceae. At least three sub-species (alternatively called varieties) are known. It is closely related to other species in the genus ''Pueraria'' (''P. edulis'' and ''P. phaseoloides'') and the common name kudzu is used for all of these species and hybrids between them. The morphological differences between them are subtle, they can breed with each other, and it appears that introduced kudzu populations in the United States have ancestry from more than one of the species. ==Description== It is an seasonal climbing plant, growing high where suitable surfaces (trees, cliffs, walls) are available, and also growing as ground cover where there are no vertical surfaces. It is a perennial vine with tuberous roots and rope-like, dark brown stems to 20 m (65 ft) long. It grow up to 20 m per year and can achieve a growth height of 30 m. It has markedly hairy herbaceous stems. ''Pueraria montana'' is native to Southeast Asia, primarily subtropical and temperate regions of China, Japan, and Korea,〔Harrington, Timothy B., Laura T. Rader-Dixon, and John W. Taylor. (“Kudzu (''Pueraria montana'') Community Responses to Herbicides, Burning, and High-density Loblolly Pine.” ) ''Weed Science'',965-974, 2003.〕〔Hickman, Jonathan E., Shiliang Wu, Loretta J. Mickey, and Manuel T. Lerdau. “Kudzu (‘‘Pueraria Montana’’) Invasion Doubles Emissions of Nitric Oxide and Increases Ozone Pollution.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 107.22, 10115-10119, 2010.〕 with trifoliate leaves composed of three leaflets.〔Forseth. Jr., I.N. and Innis, Anne F.“Kudzu (‘‘Pueraria montana’’): History, Physiology, and Ecology Combine to Make a Major Ecosystem Threat” ''Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences'', Vol. 23, 401-413, 2004.〕〔Conservation Commission of Missouri. (“Kudzu.” ) ''Missouri Department of Conservation'',2011.〕 Each leaflet is large and ovate with two to three lobes each and hair on the underside.〔 The leaves have the ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen, which can supply up to 95% of leaf nitrogen to the plant in poor soils.〔 Along the vines are nodes, points at which stems or tendrils can propagate to increase support and attach to structures.〔 As a twining vine, kudzu uses stems or tendrils that can extend from any node on the vine to attach to and climb most surfaces.〔〔〔Black, R.J. and Meerow, A.W. “Landscaping to Conserve Energy” ''Proceedings of the Florida State Horticultural Society'', Vol. 102, 142-144. 1989.〕 In addition, the nodes of the kudzu vine have the ability to root when exposed to soil, further anchoring the vine to the ground.〔〔 The roots are tuberous and are high in starch and water content, and the twining of the plant allows for less carbon concentration in the construction of woody stems and greater concentration in roots, which aids root growth.〔 The roots can account for up to 40% of total plant biomass.〔 Flowers are reddish-purple and yellow, fragrant, similar to pea flowers, about wide and are produced at the leaf axis in elongated racemes about long. The flowering period extends from July through October. The fruit is a flat hairy pod about long with three seeds. Kudzu’s primary method of reproduction is asexual vegetative spread (cloning) which is aided by the ability to root wherever a stem is exposed to soil.〔 For sexual reproduction, kudzu is entirely dependent on pollinators.〔 Although kudzu prefers forest regrowth and edge habitats with high sun exposure, the plant can survive in full sun or partial shade.〔〔 These attributes of kudzu made it attractive as an ornamental plant for shading porches in the Southeastern United States, but they facilitated the growth of kudzu as it became a “structural parasite” of the southern states,〔 enveloping entire structures when untreated〔 and often referred to as “the vine that ate the south”.〔McGroarty, Michael J. (“Kudzu, the Vine That Ate the South.” ‘‘How To Control Kudzu’’, 2010 )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Pueraria montana」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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