Pueraria phaseoloides
(tropical kudzu)

Pictures

Picture	Title	Caption	Copyright
Title Foliage Caption P. phaseoloides foliage. Copyright ©Chris Parker/Bristol, UK	Foliage	P. phaseoloides foliage.	©Chris Parker/Bristol, UK
Title Flowers Caption Flowers small, mauve to deep purple, borne in pairs on axillary racemes 10-30 cm long, on peduncles ca 15 cm long. Copyright NOVARTIS	Flowers	Flowers small, mauve to deep purple, borne in pairs on axillary racemes 10-30 cm long, on peduncles ca 15 cm long.	NOVARTIS

Identity

Preferred Scientific Name

• Pueraria phaseoloides (Roxb.) Benth.

Preferred Common Name

• tropical kudzu

Other Scientific Names

• Dolichos phaseoloides Roxb.
• Pueraria javanica (Benth.) Benth.

International Common Names

• English: puero
• Spanish: kudzu; kurzu; yerba kudzu
• French: kudzu tropical
• Chinese: san lie ye ye ge

Local Common Names

• Cook Islands: kutu
• Indonesia: krandang
• Lesser Antilles: bwa mang
• Malaysia: foea banga
• Thailand: suak pied

EPPO code

• PUEPH (Pueraria phaseoloides)

Summary of Invasiveness

P. phaseoloides is a vigorous fast-growing vine included in the Global Compendium of Weeds (Randall, 2012) and listed as one of the most aggressive weeds invading moist habitats in tropical and subtropical regions (USDA-ARS, 2012). It spreads by seeds and by runners (i.e., stolons) which are structures that enable plants to multiply rapidly and colonize entire forests very fast. This species has been extensively introduced in tropical and subtropical region of the world to be used as forage for livestock, to control soil erosion, and as a soil improvement species (Skerman et al., 1991; Cook et al., 2005). P. phaseoloides has the potential to degrade other plants by smothering them under a solid blanket of leaves, by girdling woody stems and tree trunks, and by breaking branches or uprooting entire trees and shrubs by the strength of its weight. Currently, this species is classified as a “noxious weed” in the United States (USDA-NRCS,2012) and as an invasive species in Costa Rica, Ecuador, Puerto Rico and Pacific Islands including Hawaii, Fiji, French Polynesia, Niue and New Caledonia (Soria et al., 2002; Acevedo-Rodríguez and Strong, 2012; Chacón and Saborio, 2012; PIER, 2012).

Taxonomic Tree

• Domain: Eukaryota
•     Kingdom: Plantae
•         Phylum: Spermatophyta
•             Subphylum: Angiospermae
•                 Class: Dicotyledonae
•                     Order: Fabales
•                         Family: Fabaceae
•                             Subfamily: Faboideae
•                                 Genus: Pueraria
•                                     Species: Pueraria phaseoloides

Notes on Taxonomy and Nomenclature

Fabaceae is one the largest families of flowering plants. The family includes about 745 genera and 19500 species that can be found throughout the world, growing in many different environments and climates (Stevens, 2012). The species within the subfamiliy Faboideae (also known as Papilionoideae) are usually herbs, shrubs, and vines and often have once-compound leaves. The genus Pueraria comprises six species native to Southern Asia (Acevedo-Rodríguez, 2005). This genus also includes the species Pueraria montana var. lobata which is a vigorous vine listed as one the most noxious weeds in the United States and one of the 100 world’s worst invasive alien species (Soria et al., 2002; ISSG, 2012; USDA-ARS, 2012).

Description

Herbaceous vine, twining, much branched, attaining 15 m in length. Stems cylindrical; leaves alternate, trifoliolate; leaflets 3-12(14) × 2.9-8.7(13) cm, chartaceous, ovate or rhombic, the lateral ones asymmetrical, the apex acute, the base cuneate on the central leaflet, rounded-obtuse on the lateral ones, the margins entire; upper surface dark green, dull, pubescent, especially on the veins; lower surface pale green, strigose, with prominent venation; petiolules swollen, 4-5 mm long, pubescent; petioles sulcate, pubescent, up to 12 cm long, with the base swollen; stipules narrowly lanceolate, 3-5 mm long; stipels subulate, minute, persistent. Pseudo-racemes axillary, solitary, up to 25 cm long, with 2-3 mauve to deep purple flowers per node; bracts minute, persistent; peduncles pubescent and ca 15 cm long. Calyx campanulate, approximately 5 mm long. Fruit is a linear, flattened legume, 6-9 cm long, slightly curved, dehiscent by valves that open in a spiral, the valves septate between the seeds. Seeds are numerous, 8-25 per pod, approximately 3 mm long, oblong, dark brown to almost black (Acevedo-Rodríguez, 2005).

Plant Type

Distribution

P. phaseoloides is native to wet tropical areas in southern China, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. It has been extensively introduced in tropical and subtropical areas to be used as a forage and soil improvement species and it can be found naturalized throughout the humid-tropics (Cook et al., 2005; Acevedo-Rodríguez and Strong, 2012; USDA-ARS, 2012; PIER, 2012). It is well adapted to Northern Australia, the Pacific Islands and tropical regions of Africa, North, Central and South America.

Distribution Table

The distribution in this summary table is based on all the information available. When several references are cited, they may give conflicting information on the status. Further details may be available for individual references in the Distribution Table Details section which can be selected by going to Generate Report.

History of Introduction and Spread

P. phaseoloides has been deliberately introduced into moist tropical and subtropical regions of the world to be used as a forage legume species (Skerman et al., 1991; Cook et al., 2005). In Puerto Rico, this species was apparently originally introduced on lands of the Agricultural Experiment Station in Mayagüez in 1940 from material from Malaya (Acevedo-Rodríguez, 2005). At the Smithsonian Herbarium, the first record of this species for the West Indies comes from a collection made in 1945 in La Vega, Dominican Republic (Smithsonian Herbarium Collection).

Risk of Introduction

The risk of introduction of P. phaseoloides is very high. This species is an aggressive invasive vine widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions of the world and it has the capability to spread rapidly into natural forest, climbing into the canopy of mature trees and forming dense colonies (Cook et al., 2005; Acevedo-Rodríguez and Strong, 2012; USDA-ARS, 2012; PIER, 2012).

Habitat

P. phaseoloides grows in semi-open to completely open areas at lower and middle elevations. It prefers annual rainfall regimes of >1500 mm, but will grow in the sub-humid tropics in 1000-1500 mm/year rainfall environments, particularly where temporary waterlogging occurs. It is an aggressive weed and can be found growing in pastures, grassland with a scattered shrub layer, riverbanks, coastal forests, disturbed forests, forest edges, along roadsides, waste sites, and even on fences (Soria et al., 2002; Acevedo-Rodríguez, 2005; PIER, 2012; Randall, 2012).

Habitat List

Biology and Ecology

Genetics

The chromosome number for P. phaseoloides is 2n = 22 (Kumar and Hymowitz, 1989).

Physiology and Phenology

In Puerto Rico, P. phaseoloides has been observed flowering and fruiting from November to March (Acevedo-Rodríguez, 2005). In Brazil it has been observed flowering from April to May (Cook et al., 2005).

Associations

P. phaseoloides is widespread in moist open and semi-open areas, often degraded, at lower and middle elevations including pastures, grassland with a scattered shrub layer, and disturbed forests (Soria et al., 2002; PIER, 2012; Randall, 2012). In Puerto Rico, this species is a component of the weed community in roadsides, disturbed areas, and pastures in lower and middle elevations (Acevedo-Rodríguez, 2005). Like many legumes, P. phaseoloides is a nitrogen-fixing species and has root nodules housing Rhizobium bacteria (Skerman et al., 1991; Cook et al., 2005).

Environmental Requirements

P. phaseoloides grows in moist areas at low to middle elevations (from sea level to 1600m asl) with temperatures ranging from 15°C to 30°C, and high precipitation (>1500 mm annual rainfall). Ludlow and Wilson (1970) obtained only 8.3% of the dry matter, 24% of the relative growth rate, and 4% of the leaf area at 20°C as was produced at 30°C. This species grows well in a great variety of soil types (from sands to clay) with pH ranging from 4 to 6.5, but does not perform well on heavy clays (Cook et al., 2005). Landrau et al. (1953) found good growth at pH 4.5 on a lateritic soil, and at pH 4.6-5.1 in a clay soil. It is able to grow in very wet soils and it can survive short periods of flooding. P. phaseoloides does not tolerate salinity or frost conditions and it is not adapted to drought (Skerman et al., 1991; Cook et al., 2005). This species prefers to grow in fully sunlit open areas, but it is also adapted to partially shaded conditions (Cook et al., 2005).

Climate

Air Temperature

Rainfall

Rainfall Regime

Soil Tolerances

Soil drainage

• free

Soil reaction

• acid
• neutral

Soil texture

• heavy
• light
• medium

Special soil tolerances

• shallow

Notes on Natural Enemies

Leaf spot (Pseudocercospora puerariae) is common throughout tropical America, causing defoliation under humid conditions. Anthracnose (Glomerella cingulata) has been reported in P. phaseoloides plants growing in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, and on some islands in the Caribbean. Under prolonged humid conditions P. phaseoloides can be defoliated by the foliar blight Thanatephorus cucumeris (Skerman et al., 1991; Cook et al., 2005).

Means of Movement and Dispersal

P. phaseoloides reproduces sexually by seeds and also vegetatively by runners (i.e., stolons) forming dense colonies in a short time period (Skerman et al., 1991). Plants produce a prolific amount of viable seeds (10-20 seeds/pod) which can be dispersed by animals and by water (Acevedo-Rodríguez, 2005). Plant fragments may be broken off and dispersed to new locations by humans, wild animals, livestock, vehicles, and/or floodwaters (Skerman et al., 1991; Cook et al., 2005).

Pathway Causes

Pathway Vectors

Impact Summary

Economic Impact

P. phaseoloides has economic value as a forage and cover crop, and is frequently deliberately used to suppress other weed growth, but it can also get out of control and itself become a problem. This has been the case especially in West Africa, e.g. in oil palm, where it has been listed as one of the three dominant weed species requiring control (Gill and Onyibe, 1988). Waterhouse (1993) lists P. phaseoloides as a widespread and important weed in Thailand and Singapore, and as present as a weed in Indonesia, Myanmar and the Philippines.

Environmental Impact

P. phaseoloides is an aggressive invasive vine that grows rapidly forming dense colonies that engulf native vegetation, climbing high into mature tree canopies and shading-out trees and shrubs in the understory (Randall, 2012). This species has the potential to completely out-compete vegetation communities and degrade other plants by smothering them under a solid blanket of leaves, by girdling woody stems and tree trunks, and by breaking branches or uprooting entire trees and shrubs by the strength of its weight (Acevedo-Rodríguez, 2005; PIER, 2012; USDA-ARS, 2012).

Risk and Impact Factors

• Proved invasive outside its native range
• Has a broad native range
• Abundant in its native range
• Tolerates, or benefits from, cultivation, browsing pressure, mutilation, fire etc
• Pioneering in disturbed areas
• Benefits from human association (i.e. it is a human commensal)
• Fast growing
• Has high reproductive potential

• Altered trophic level
• Ecosystem change/ habitat alteration
• Modification of nutrient regime
• Modification of successional patterns
• Monoculture formation
• Reduced native biodiversity
• Threat to/ loss of endangered species
• Threat to/ loss of native species

• Competition - monopolizing resources
• Competition - shading
• Competition - smothering
• Competition - strangling
• Rapid growth

• Highly likely to be transported internationally deliberately
• Highly likely to be transported internationally illegally

Uses

P. phaseoloides is grown as a cover crop in oil palm, rubber and coconut. When it is grown with other legume species, it suppresses weed infestation, controls erosion on hilly slopes, enriches the soil by fixation of atmospheric nitrogen by the root nodules, and also adds organic matter from its leaf litter. It also serves as an excellent soil cover. Horrell (1958) found P. phaseoloides to be self-mulching and to add considerable nitrogen by mineralization of leaf litter.

P. phaseoloides is also planted as a pasture legume together with other grass species. Teitzel (1969) reported that Puero-based mixed pastures were some of the most productive areas under grazing in the wet tropics of North Queensland, Australia. In the tropical Americas this species is considered a valuable fodder plant and it is intentionally planted to be used as cut and carry forage (Skerman et al., 1991; Cook et al., 2005). 

The tuberous roots are edible and the stems can be used as ropes. In traditional medicine, it is used to control boils and ulcers.

Uses List

Animal feed, fodder, forage

• Fodder/animal feed
• Forage

Environmental

• Erosion control or dune stabilization
• Soil improvement

Materials

• Fibre

Similarities to Other Species/Conditions

P. phaseoloides is very similar to the real kudzu Pueraria montana var. lobata. These two species can be differentiated by their capability to produce underground tubers. The species P. phaseoloides does not produce any underground tubers and its fruits are relative narrow (about 5mm across). P. montana var. lobata produce large underground tubers (up to 1.8 m long and 15 cm wide) and its fruits are relatively wide (about 12 mm across; Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, 2011).

Prevention and Control

While most growers are concerned to control other weeds to assist the establishment of P. phaseoloides, it can become necessary to control P. phaseoloides itself where it is a weed or invasive plant. This can be achieved with 2,4-D and related compounds. It is also susceptible to paraquat (Riepma, 1962). It recovers from glyphosate at 0.75 kg/ha and from mixtures of asulam with dalapon, triclopyr, etc. (Ikuenobe and Utulu, 1992). Chikoye et al. (2009) describe control in maize by atrazine, a mixture of atrazine and metolachlor, and a mixture of mesotrione, S-metolachlor and atrazine.

Tye (2007) reports the successful eradication of P. phaseoloides from Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos, in a programme that began within one year of its introduction at a single site. Most of the cost of eradication was for labour involved in searching for infestations.

References

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Links to Websites

Contributors

22/07/13 Updated by:

Julissa Rojas-Sandoval, Department of Botany-Smithsonian NMNH, Washington DC, USA

Pedro Acevedo-Rodríguez, Department of Botany-Smithsonian NMNH, Washington DC, USA

Distribution Maps