This is kudzu. It is a vine imported from Asia back in the 1870s and touted as the South's answer to soil erosion in the early-to-mid 1900s. It grows about a foot a day and currently covers every possible surface you can imagine when you drive through parts of the South. It is all over Atlanta. It is so omnipresent that those of us who live here really hardly notice it anymore, but if you were to come to visit, it would probably be the first thing about which you'd ask. It in invasive. It covers trees and literally chokes them. And it is practically impossible to kill. In Asia, kudzu has natural predators. Here, it doesn't. It is everywhere, climbing up utility poles, trees, buildings and covering them like monsters. It is not considered a good thing.
However, I can't help wondering when I see all that green vegetation, what are we missing? If George Washington Carver could lock himself in his laboratory and come up with 300 uses for the peanut, what can great minds come up with for kudzu? Sure, there's a bit of a basket-making industry around kudzu, and I've heard about kudzu jelly made from its sweet flowers (although my efforts to get my hands on a jar of this stuff have all been in vain so far) but could it be possible that we haven't even scratched the surface? Why would be be given so much kudzu if there is not a purpose for it? In Asia, the root is used medicinally. Perhaps kudzu is the cure for cancer. What about biofuel? Maybe kudzu could help us run our cars rather than just run amok. Or maybe kudzu has culinary uses that can help reverse the obesity epidemic in the United States.
As Atlanta's children go back to school tomorrow, I will scan the young faces I pass on the street and in the schools and ask myself, "Who is the next George Washington Carver? Who will unlock the enormous possibilities within this weed known as kudzu?" If we are looking to inspire our children about science, we don't have to look further than our front door. Literally.
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2 comments:
I hate kudzo! I'd never even thought of trying to find uses for it, I've always been set on killing as much of it as possible. I may have to do some research.
There is a great article on Kudzu in how Can I use Herbs in my Daily Life Isabell Shipard, part of it can be found here http://www.herbsarespecial.com.au/free-herb-information/kudzu.html
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