KUDZU

„The vine that ate the south“ ist the common description for the highly invasive plant which grows everywhere in the American South. Originally the plant came from Asia. 1876 Kudzu was imported first time into the USA at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition. While the great depression farm workers were paid to plant Kudzu, to stop soil erosion. Therefore the vine had been widely planted in the South. Today Kudzu is a huge problem. Where it grows it eliminates all other vegetation, Kudzu easily overtakes complete woods. It looks amazing, overgrown trees look like mysterious creatures and the forests seems to be enchanted. But the vine kills the trees, damages property and grows rapidly. Kudzu can grow 30 centimetre a day and becomes 30 metre long. Kudzu has altered the landscape severely and affected the biodiversitiy of the Southern States.

Sabine Bungert and Stefan Dolfen