Pueraria montana lobata

Taxonomy and growth

Family

Leguminosae

Genus

Pueraria

Life cycle

perennial

Woodiness

woody

Growth rate

vigorous

Height

10 m

Fertility

Insects

Flower type

hermaphrodite

Pollinators

Insects

Uses

Edible uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Root - cooked^[2][6]. Rich in starch^[3]. The root can be up to 1.8 metres long^[7] and has been known to weigh 35 kilos or more^[21]. The root contains about 10% starch, this can be extracted and used as a crispy coating in deep fried foods, or for thickening soups etc^[7][11]. It can also be made into noodles, or like agar or gelatine is used as a gelling agent for salads^[11]. This plant is a staple food in Japan, the peeled root contains about 2.1% protein, 0.1% fat, 27.1% carbohydrate, 1.4% ash^[9]. The starch of the roots contains (per 100 g) 340 calories, 16.5 percent moisture, 0.2 g protein, 0.1 g fat, 83.1 g total carbohydrate, 0.1 g ash, 35 mg Ca, 18 mg P, 2.0 mg Fe, and 2 mg Na^[21]. A nutritional analysis for the whole root is available. Flowers - cooked or made into pickles^[11]. Stems and young leaves - raw or cooked^[2]. A very nutritious food, the fresh young shoots taste like a cross between a bean and a pea^[11]. The cooked leaves contain (per 100 g) 36 calories, 89.0 percent moisture, 0.4 g protein, 0.1 g fat, 9.7 g total carbohydrate. 7.7 g fiber, 0.8 fat, 34 mg Ca, 20 mg P, 4.9 mg Fe, 0.03 mg thiamin, 0.91 mg riboflavin, 0.8 mg niacin^[21].

Medicinal uses

Historical medicinal uses. These records describe reported uses. They do not establish safety or effectiveness. Ask a qualified health professional before using any plant medicinally.

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

The kudzu vine, known as Ge Gen in China, is commonly used in Chinese herbalism, where it is considered to be one of the 50 fundamental herbs^[15]. Recent research has shown that compounds called 'daidzin' and 'daidzein', which are contained in the roots and the flowers, are a safe and effective method for treating alcohol abuse^[18]. They work by suppressing the appetite for alcohol, whereas existing treatments interfere with the way the alcohol is metabolised and can cause a build-up of toxins^[18]. The plant is often used in combination with Chrysanthemum x morifolium in treating alcohol abuse^[20]. The flowers and the roots are antidote, antiemetic, antipyretic, antispasmodic, demulcent, diaphoretic, digestive, febrifuge, hypoglycaemic and hypotensive^{[7][8][15][17][18]}. A concoction of the flowers and tubers is used to treat alcoholism, fever, colds, diarrhoea, dysentery, acute intestinal obstruction etc^{[7][8][15][17]}. It is useful in the treatment of angina pectoris and migraine^[15]. The root is frequently used as a remedy for measles, often in combination with Cimicifuga foetida^[20]. The root contains puerarin. This increases the blood flow to the coronary artery and protects against acute myocardial ischaemia caused by the injection of pituitrin^[8]. The root can be harvested from the autumn to the spring and is used fresh or dried^[18]. The flowers are harvested just before they are fully open and are dried for later use^[18]. The stems are galactogogue and are also applied as a poultice to incipient boils, swellings, sore mouths etc^[15][17]. The seed is used in the treatment of hangover and dysentery^[15][17]. The leaves are styptic^[15].

Material uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

A tough, strong fibre from the stems is used to make ropes, cables, coarse cordage and textiles^{[24][3][4][5][13]}. The fibre is 2 - 3mm long and can be used to make paper. Straight first year stems, 2 - 2.7 metres long, are harvested in mid summer, the leaves are removed and the stems steamed until the fibres can be stripped. The fibres are then cooked for 2 hours with lye, tough vines might require 4 hours cooking, and the fibre put in a ball mill for 3 hours. The resulting paper is greenish/cream in colour^[13]. Can be used as a ground cover plant in a sunny position^[12]. Plants have an extensive root system which can be 1.8 metres deep, they are used for erosion control and for rebuilding depleted soils^[6][7]. A member of the Leguminosae, so it adds nitrogen to the soil through the actions of root bacteria.

Ecology and functions

Ecosystem niche

Climber, Soil surface

Environment

Range

E. Asia - China, Japan, Korea.

Habitat

Thickets and thin woods all over Japan^[23].

Light

full sun

Shade tolerance

no shade

Water

moderate

Hardiness

Zone 6+

Soil textures

sandy, loamy, clay

Soil pH

acid, neutral, alkaline

Drainage

well drained

Tolerances

drought

Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil

No

Drought

tolerant

Propagation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Cultivation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Grows best on well-drained loam soil of good fertility^[21]. Succeeds in most well-drained soils in a sunny position^[14], though it does not make good growth on very light poor sand or on poorly drained heavy clay^[21]. Plants cannot stand waterlogging on any soil^[21]. A deep-rooted pant, once established it is very drought resistant^[6][21]. The plant is reported to tolerate an annual precipitation in the range of 97 to 214cm, an annual mean temperature in the range of 12.2 to 26.7°C, and a pH of 5.0 to 7.1^[21]. Plants are hardy to about -15°c, they can resprout from the base if they are cut down by frosts^[14]. A twining plant, the top growth is not generally hardy in Britain and plants do not always flower here^[1]. Plants can be grown as annuals in Britain, the seed is started off in a greenhouse and is planted out after the last frosts^[1]. They can grow up to 6 metres in their first year and make good temporary screens^[1]. The plant succeeds outdoors in Berlin, but it has to be propagated vegetatively there^[25]. This plant is cultivated for its edible root in Japan and China^[11]. The flowers have a sweet vanilla scent^[19]. When grown in warmer climates than Britain the root can be invasive and plants have become weeds^[10][16]. Introduced into the southern N. American states in 1876 as a soil stabilizer, the plant has spread very widely (it can grow up to 30cm in a day), has swamped out native vegetation, including large trees. It is considered to be one of the most obnoxious weeds in that region^[22]. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby^[14].

Related plants

• Pueraria montana chinensisMealy Kudzu
• Pueraria phaseoloidesTropical Kudzu
• Pueraria pseudohirsuta
• Pueraria tuberosa

References

1. F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00

   ↩1↩2↩3

2. Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976-00-00

   ↩1↩2

3. Wilson. E. H. Plantae Wilsonae.

   ↩1↩2

4. Wilson. E. H. and Trollope. M. N. Corean Flora. Royal Asiatic Society 1918-00-00

   ↩1↩2

5. Buchanan. R. A Weavers Garden.

   ↩

6. Hill. A. F. Economic Botany. The Maple Press 1952-00-00

   ↩1↩2↩3

7. Kariyone. T. Atlas of Medicinal Plants.

   ↩1↩2↩3↩4↩5

8. Yeung. Him-Che. Handbook of Chinese Herbs and Formulas. Institute of Chinese Medicine, Los Angeles 1985-00-00

   ↩1↩2↩3

9. Reid. B. E. Famine Foods of the Chiu-Huang Pen-ts'ao. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre 1977-00-00

   ↩

10. Thomas. G. S. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-7195-5043-2

    ↩

11. Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4↩5

12. Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-86318-386-7

    ↩

13. Bell. L. A. Plant Fibres for Papermaking. Liliaceae Press 1988-00-00

    ↩1↩2

14. Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4

15. Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985-00-00 ISBN 0-917256-20-4

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4↩5↩6↩7

16. Grey-Wilson. C. & Matthews. V. Gardening on Walls Collins 1983-00-00 ISBN 0-00-219220-0

    ↩

17. Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990-00-00 ISBN 0395467225

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4

18. Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995-00-00 ISBN 0-7513-020-31

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4↩5

19. Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994-00-00 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8

    ↩

20. Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996-00-00 ISBN 9-780751-303148

    ↩1↩2

21. Duke. J. Handbook of Energy Crops - 1983-00-00

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4↩5↩6↩7↩8

22. Diggs, Jnr. G.M.; Lipscomb. B. L. & O'Kennon. R. J Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas Botanical Research Institute, Texas. 1999-00-00 http://artemis.austincollege.edu/acad/bio/gdiggs/NCTXpdf.htm

    • Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas
    ↩

23. Ohwi. G. Flora of Japan. (English translation) Smithsonian Institution 1965-00-00

    ↩

24. Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974-00-00 ISBN 0094579202

    ↩

25. Komarov. V. L. Flora of the USSR. Israel Program for Scientific Translation 1968-00-00

    ↩