Pueraria montana

Pueraria montana

The kudzu vine (Pueraria montana (Lour.) Merr.) is a climbing herbaceous species belonging to the Fabaceae family.

Systematics –
From a systematic point of view it belongs to:
Eukaryota Domain,
Kingdom Plantae,
Magnoliophyta Division,
Magnoliopsida class,
Fabales Order,
Fabaceae family,
Faboideae subfamily,
Phaseoleae tribe,
Genus Pueraria,
P. montana species.
The terms are synonyms:
– Bujacia anonychia E. Mey .;
– Dolichos grandiflorus Wall .;
– Dolichos grandifolius Wall .;
– Dolichos hirsutus Thunb .;
– Dolichos japonicus hort .;
– Dolichos lobatus Willd .;
– Dolichos montanus Lour .;
– Dolichos stipulaceus Lam.
– Dolichos trilobus Lour .;
– Glycine javanica L .;
– Moniliform Glycine Hochst. formerly A. Rich .;
– Neustanthus chinensis Benth .;
– Pachyrhizus montanus (Lour.) DC .;
– Pachyrhizus thunbergianus Siebold & Zucc .;
– Pachyrhizus trilobus DC .;
– Phaseolus aconitifolius Roxb .;
– Phaseolus cornutus Blume ex Miq .;
– Phaseolus ficifolius Schrank;
– Phaseolus lobatus (Willd.) Roxb. ex Wight & Arn .;
– Phaseolus trilobus Aiton;
– Pueraria argyi H. Lev. & Vaniot;
– Pueraria bodinieri H. Lev. & Vaniot;
– Pueraria caerulea H. Lev. & Vaniot;
– Pueraria chinensis Ohwi;
– Pueraria harmsii Rech .;
– Pueraria hirsuta (Thunb.) Matsum .;
– Pueraria koten H. Lev. & Vaniot;
– Pueraria lobata (Willd.) Ohwi .;
– Pueraria lobata subsp. montana (Willd.) Maesen & S.M. Almeida;
– Pueraria neocaledonica Harms;
– Pueraria novoguineensis Warb .;
– Pueraria omeiensis T.Tang & Wang;
– Pueraria pseudohirsuta T.Tang & Wang;
– Pueraria thomsonii Benth .;
– Pueraria thunbergiana (Siebold & Zucc.) Benth .;
– Pueraria tonkinensis Gagnep .;
– Pueraria triloba (Houtt.) Makino;
– Pueraria triloba sensu auct .;
– Pueraria volkensii Hosok .;
– Stizolobium montanum (Lour.) Spreng .;
– Vigna lobata (Willd.) Endl. ex Miq .;
– Vigna stipulacea (Lam.) Kuntze;
– Zeydora agrestis Gomes ..
Within this species, the following varieties are recognized:
– Pueraria montana var. chinensis (Ohwi) Sanjappa & Pradeep;
– Pueraria montana var. lobed (Willd.) Sanjappa & Pradeep;
– Pueraria montana var. thomsonii (Benth.) Wiersema ex D.B. Ward.

Etymology –
The term Pueraria of the genus was dedicated to the Swiss botanist Marc Nicolas Puerari (1766-1845), professor of botany in Copenhagen.
The specific mountain epithet comes from mons montis monte: of the mountains, mountain, in reference to the growth horizon (1000-1400 m).

Geographic Distribution and Habitat –
Kudzu is a plant native to East Asia (China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea) and present in the Russian Far East, Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam), Pacific (New Caledonia, New Papua Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu).
In Italy it is present in some northern regions, including Veneto in the Euganean territory.
The species was introduced in Europe in 1878 as an ornamental plant and today it behaves as an invasive neophyte.
Its habitat is that of woods, on dry slopes or in humid places, in sandy or clayey soils, valleys, roadsides, open pastures, hedges, river banks, swamps, where it grows mainly on the slopes of mountains and volcanoes, on the solidified lava, at altitudes of up to 1,500 meters.

Description –
Pueraria montana is a vigorous perennial climbing plant that produces annual stems that form from a tuberous root. It is a long-lived plant, able to survive even 100 years, and large in size (its roots can reach 100 meters in length).
The plant can reach 2 meters in length and 45 cm in diameter.
The stems can reach 15-30 meters or more in length and have a diameter of up to 10 cm, becoming woody at the base. These can climb or develop on the ground, producing new roots where the nodes of the stem touch the ground and, often, forming dense carpets on the ground.
The plant can completely choke trees where they climb.
The leaves have a lamina composed of two or more leaflets, with one leaf per node along each stem.
The flowers are collected in inflorescences and are lilac to purple in color with the typical papilionaceous corolla.
The antesis is between July and October.
The fruit is an elliptical legume measuring 40-130 x 6-13 mm, flattened, bristly due to brown hair, containing up to 10 brownish, kidney-shaped seeds.

Cultivation –
Pueraria montana is a very fast growing plant that often covers almost uniformly all the surfaces it encounters.
This plant can be grown in a wide range of climates, from milder areas in the temperate zone to subtropics and higher elevations in the tropics. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are between 18 and 28 ° C, but can tolerate between 9 and 32 ° C.
When dormant it can survive temperatures down to about -6 ° C, but late frosts can damage the young shoots; however the plant will tend to reject.
This plant prefers an average annual rainfall in the range 1,200 – 1,400 mm, but tolerates 950 – 2,200 mm.
From the pedological point of view, even if it grows on various types of soil, it prefers a pH between 5.5 and 6.5, tolerating between 5 and 7.1.
Tubers can be harvested about 1 year after planting if grown from cuttings. If left in the ground for longer they can grow very large, weighing up to 180 kilos.
This species has a symbiotic relationship with some soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen.
Moreover, thanks to its characteristics it is an excellent defense against soil erosion. However, these characteristics, combined with an extraordinary vigor of the climbing stems and a strong adaptability, make the plant one of the most harmful weeds worldwide in areas where it escapes cultivation, including Italy (It is present in the list of the 100 most weeds in the world compiled by the IUCN).
Propagation occurs by seed which is immersed for 12 hours in warm water and sown in early spring. Germination should take place within 2 weeks. It can also multiply by dividing young shoots obtained from the crown. The young shoots are removed in spring with part of the underground part of the stem, preferably with some roots already formed.

Customs and Traditions –
Kudzu is a plant that is also exploited in nature especially for the starch richness of its roots.
It is a widely used plant that provides food, medicine and fiber, as well as being grown in soil conservation projects. It was once heavily cultivated for its edible root and useful fiber, especially in East and Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands.
The plant is considered to be the oldest fiber crop in China and Japan, being mentioned in documents from over 2,000 years ago.
Nowadays it has largely lost its former importance and cultivation has been abandoned (e.g. in the Pacific islands) or reduced. Cultivation, however, is still widely practiced in the highlands of New Guinea, New Caledonia, the northern Philippines, and Japan.
Among the edible uses we remember the use of the cooked root which is rich in starch.
The root contains about 10% of a fine quality starch – this can be extracted and used as a crunchy coating in fried foods or as a thickener in soups and other preparations.
It can also be made into noodles, or like agar or jelly it is used as a gelling agent for salads.
Roots are a staple food in Japan, the peeled root contains about 2.1% protein, 0.1% fat, 27.1% carbohydrate, 1.4% ash.
Root starch contains (per 100 g) 340 calories, 16.5% moisture, 0.2 g of protein, 0.1 g of fat, 83.1 g of total carbohydrates, 0.1 g of ash, 35 mg of Ca, 18 mg of P, 2.0 mg of Fe and 2 mg Na.
You can also eat both cooked and pickled flowers.
Additionally, both the stems and the young leaves can be eaten raw or cooked.
It is a very nutritious food, the young fresh shoots taste like a cross between a bean and a pea.
Cooked leaves contain (per 100g) 36 calories, 89.0 percent moisture, 0.4g protein, 0.1g fat, 9.7g total carbohydrates. 7.7 g fiber, 0.8 fat, 34 mg Ca, 20 mg P, 4.9 mg Fe, 0.03 mg thiamine, 0.91 mg riboflavin, 0.8 mg niacin .
Pueraria montana is also widely used in the medicinal field and is known as Ge Gen in China, and commonly used in oriental herbal medicine, where it is considered one of the 50 fundamental herbs of Chinese herbal medicine.
All parts of the plant are used medicinally, especially the starchy root. Kudzu starch is used to restore health by alkalizing the blood flow and fighting intestinal and digestive disorders. Starch is therefore mainly taken in soups or teas. As a dietary food it is soothing, nutritious and easily digestible.
The flowers and roots are antidote, antiemetics, antipyretic, antispasmodic, emollient, diaphoretic, digestive, febrifuge, hypoglycemic and hypotensive.
You can prepare decoctions from both flowers and tubers to treat alcoholism, fever, cold, diarrhea, dysentery, acute intestinal obstruction, etc. They are also useful in the treatment of angina pectoris and migraine.
The root is frequently used as a remedy for measles, often in combination with black cohosh foetida.
The flower buds are diaphoretic and febrifugal.
Research has shown that the use of daidzein-based compounds, contained in the roots and flowers, represent a safe and effective remedy for the treatment of alcohol abuse. These work by suppressing the craving for alcohol, while existing treatments interfere with the way alcohol is metabolized and can cause a buildup of toxins.
The plant, in the treatment of alcohol abuse, is often used in combination with Chrysanthemum x morifolium.
The root contains puerarin; This compound has been shown to increase blood flow to the coronary artery and protect against acute myocardial ischemia caused by pituitrin injection.
The stems are galactagogues and are also applied as a poultice on incipient bubbles, swellings, irritated mouths, etc.
The seed is used in the treatment of hangover and dysentery.
The leaves can also be used causing constipation.
In addition to food and medicinal uses, Pueraria montana can be used for agroforestry uses.
It is used as a ground cover in sunny areas.
The plants grow very fast and have a large root system that can reach a depth of 1.8 meters. They are used for erosion control and for the reconstruction of impoverished soils.
Among other uses, a tough and resistant fiber is obtained from the stems of the plant which is used to make ropes, cables, coarse ropes and fabrics. The fiber is 2 – 3 mm long and can be used to make paper. The straight first year stems, 2 – 2.7 meters long, are harvested in mid-summer, the leaves are removed and the stems steamed until the fibers can be stripped. The fibers are then cooked for 2 hours or more with lye. The resulting paper is greenish / cream in color.

Preparation Method –
Kudzu is a plant that once found greater use and cultivation.
However, even today it is used in food, medicine and for agroforestry and industrial uses.
The young shoots and leaves can be used as a vegetable; in oriental cuisine the ground roots are used to thicken sauces or soups and to flour food to be fried.
The root can be harvested from autumn to spring and is used fresh or dried.
The flowers are harvested just before they are fully open and dried for later use.
However, all parts of this plant are used, including the seeds.

Guido Bissanti

Sources
– Acta Plantarum – Flora of the Italian Regions.
– Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
– Useful Tropical Plants Database.
– Conti F., Abbate G., Alessandrini A., Blasi C. (ed.), 2005. An annotated checklist of the Italian vascular flora, Palombi Editore.
– Pignatti S., 1982. Flora of Italy, Edagricole, Bologna.
– Treben M., 2000. Health from the Lord’s Pharmacy, Advice and experiences with medicinal herbs, Ennsthaler Editore.

Warning: Pharmaceutical applications and alimurgical uses are indicated for informational purposes only, they do not represent in any way a medical prescription; therefore no responsibility is taken for their use for curative, aesthetic or food purposes.