kudzu

/ˌkʌdˈzu/

Kudzu is a fast-growing vine that has a tendency to crowd out other plants and take over. It's really hard to get rid of kudzu once it's established itself in your yard — better call in a professional gardener.

Kudzu is native to various parts of Asia, where it's used to protect soil from erosion and harvested for animal and human food, medicine, and basket making. In the 1930s, U.S. farmers began using kudzu to stop erosion, but it spread so rapidly and intensively that it was quickly labeled an invasive weed. Ever since, kudzu has appeared along highways and roads, and crept into yards and gardens throughout North America.

Definitions of kudzu

1. noun

   fast-growing vine from eastern Asia having tuberous starchy roots and hairy trifoliate leaves and racemes of purple flowers followed by long hairy pods containing many seeds; grown for fodder and forage and root starch; widespread in the southern United States
   synonyms: Pueraria lobata, kudzu vine

   type of:

   vine

   a plant with a weak stem that derives support from climbing, twining, or creeping along a surface