Kudzu essays

Kudzu essays Kudzu is a major threat to Michigan. In this report I will discuss many factors as to why kudzu is a threat, and what we as a state can do about it. The reason I chose this topic was that I have lived in the south for most of my life, and have seen the effects of Kudzu. This plant is very threatening to us agriculturally as well as economically, and we need to deal with this problem now, before it spreads up into the beautiful landscape of Michigan. Kudzu is a climbing, semi-woody, perennial vine in the legume family. It has deciduous leaves, with three broad leaflets that measure up to four inches across. Its individual flowers are a half inch long, purple, highly fragrant, and are born in large hanging clusters. Flowering occurs in late summer and is soon followed by the production of brown, hairy, flattened, seed pods, each of which contains three to ten hard seeds. It's roots are fleshy, with massive tap roots that are seven or more inches in diameter, six feet or more in length, and weighing as much as four hundred pounds! It is common throughout the southeastern United States and has been found as far north as New York. Kudzu grows well under a wide range of conditions and in most soil types. Preferred habitats for this vine are forest edges, abandoned fields, roadsides, and disturbed areas, where sunlight is abundant. Kudzu grows best where the winters are mild, summer temperatures are above eighty degrees F ahrenheit, and annual rainfall is forty inches or more. (Description, Internet). Kudzu was introduced to the United States in 1876 at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Countries were invited to build exhibits to celebrate the 100th birthday of our country. The Japanese government constructed a beautiful garden filled with plants from their country. Kudzu was in this garden, and many viewed it as a good plant for ornamental purposes, so American gar...