Monday, June 4, 2012

Southern Culture # 16

This is kudzu, in Mississippi.  It grows all over the South and will overtake everything in sight, if you let it.


Kudzu did not exist in America until 1876.  During that year, it was introduced to America by Japan at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia.  It's everywhere now, growing at a rate of 150,000 acres annually.

You can eat kudzu, and many in China do that.  I don't think I've ever seen a Southerner eat kudzu.  Although I'm sure there are people out there that are deep fat frying this stuff.

Kudzu is a nuisance in most Southern towns, and a lot of time and effort is spent trying to control it.  The city of Chattanooga, Tennessee has undertaken a trial program using goats and llamas that graze on the plant. As of 2007 the goats are grazing along the Missionary Ridgearea in the east of the city.  Similar efforts to reduce widespread nuisance kudzu growth have also been undertaken in the cities of Winston-Salem, North Carolina and Tallahassee, FL.



Anyone interested in earning some cash?







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