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worst fears confirmed...it's KUDZU
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Posted by dirtgirl So. Illinois (My Page) on Thu, Aug 17, 06 at 0:17
Oh I think I'm going to be sick to my stomach. I have been busy with the summertime chore of hand weeding our farm fields, with shattercane being my primary target. One thing I can say about this back-breaking work is that you get a chance to notice pests or other problems that might slip by you if you never left the comfort of an air-conditioned cab. I almost wish I hadn't been there tonight when I found the latest. I was coming to a low-water crossing between fields and noticed a few trees that had been recently cut. I had forgotten that we had to clear them after the last flood and headed over to check them out. When I got to them I got the nastiest shock I could have imagined....there were small vines draped across the limbs and all I could do was stare at them. They were kudzu vines. I tried to think of any other trifoliate vines...this was NOT poison ivy. It was draped about the ground in small, delicate-looking vines, clinging on everything. I tried to estimate the size of the area of the infestation but it was getting late so I grabbed a sample and headed back to the truck. When I got home, I cracked open the books...I didn't have to. Oh gosh another gut twisting feeling. The only good thing I have to say about it is that I was in this part of the woods just last fall checking on the ginseng and did not see any of this. Maybe I just didn't notice it. If not, there's a chance I found it just in time. I am in Jefferson Co., Illinois, and kudzu is just now starting to work its way into the region from the south. It always used to be thought of as a Southern problem, not something we ever even looked for. Times have changed and now our state is actively putting together a database of kudzu locations in the hopes that we can avoid the nightmare that the south is going through. I think it is currently listed as occupying 410 +- acres, mainly in the southern counties. well, add a few more to that total I guess. Damn!! Ah if only our winters would return!!! I had hoped this day would never come...I guess first thing tomorrow I need to get on the phone to the IDNR and the University of Illinois Extension office and start the process of making a report. I think we might be able to stop this patch, but it's along a creek. Even if this is a young growth and not over two years old, it had to come from upstream, which means there is likely another population that hasn't been found yet. Guess I have lots of hiking and poking around ahead of me. At least this is the headwaters of this watershed and not four or five miles downstream...but it's the one I spend most of my free time hiking and I can't stand the thought of it being swallowed in kudzu!!
wasn't honeysuckle and russian olive enough???
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Follow-Up Postings:
RE: worst fears confirmed...it's KUDZU
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| Soon, the question will be where Kudzu is NOT, rather then where it IS. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Kudzu
RE: worst fears confirmed...it's KUDZU
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| dirtgirl, I feel for you. After living that short time in TN and seeing kudzu smother out everything in it's path....damn is putting it mildly. Chattanooga crews would go around and cut it at the ground of telephone poles, but by mid spring it was halfway up and by summer, the poles, the lines, were all hidden again. Driving up highway 27, I remember and can still see clearly all the trees just covered in that stuff. That crap is just plain creepy. |
RE: worst fears confirmed...it's KUDZU
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| I guess I will find out how serious our state is about a preventative policy. The fellow from the DNR finally called me back but I was out and missed the call. It will have to wait until Monday, although I guess I could always go in there tomorrow to the location and start ripping the crap out of it while it's still small....BTW, I checked out the link provided by Rhizo, and it's a really good one although the map of county-by-county infestations needs some updating. Under 500 acres. That seems so small and easily conquerable, but you gotta realize that at some point, especially with a rampant grower like kudzu, the balance is going to shift and "control" will be a term of the past. |
RE: worst fears confirmed...it's KUDZU
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| that was the first thing i thought of when i saw my first apios americana b/c of the bloom. i am sure they are way diff in person though, and do not doubt you. noooooo! |
RE: worst fears confirmed...it's KUDZU
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| that was another thing I tried to convince myself of....standing there looking at the stuff for the first time and desperately looking for a cluster of leaves with more than that over- and -over pattern of threes. Like maybe this was simply a case of groundnut where something had come along and browsed every cluster and left three leaves on each. Oh the things you will wish for..... |
RE: worst fears confirmed...it's KUDZU
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| The thing about those USDA maps is that they are only as good as the people who report sightings. And they tend to lag behind in reality. In other words, a specific plant problem may have to build up a large population before it's noticed. I can see this happening with kudzu, with so many still considering it strictly a southern pest. NOT! The first time I saw it (many years ago) was in Ohio. That was long before I moved to the South, lol. |
RE: worst fears confirmed...it's KUDZU
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Oh Dang.
I've been seeing some new vines in our woods, but haven't ID'd them yet. This month's copy of the DNR magazine had an article about kudzu. I didn't realize that the vine is found in so many Indiana counties. Bummer. And we haven't even made a dent in the honeysuckle yet.
I also know that the hops vine is growing like crazy around here too.......and the poison ivy is also taking over. I feel helpless...... |
RE: worst fears confirmed...it's KUDZU
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Well here is an update, and my story has now taken an ugly and unexpected turn for the worst. I had put the whole thing out of my mind til the start of the week since I couldn't do anything until the right offices opened today anyway. Sunday I was on my way home from a very enjoyable bike ride and for no real reason took a side road through town. Most of the people in our SMALL town take pride in their flowers and yardwork, so you are sure to see some neat things if you keep an eye peeled. Well, I peeled my eyes all right. Darn near right out of my head. Right in front of the first house I passed, there planted neatly at the base of the power pole next to the road, complete with twine, stakes, and great-looking potting soil, was The Vine. I think I cursed. Loudly. It had climbed to within the last few feet of the pole and was already sending runners down the guywire. Same trifoliate leaves, same sprawling habit, and -the worst-- covered with ( I will admit, they are beautiful) purple-hued spikes of flowers.
This is less than a quarter mile from a drainage ditch that passes right by the previouslyhdiscovered growth in our field. It all slopes from this point. Do the math. The only thing keeping my from completely freaking out, finding the person who planted this here and dragging them out into the street by the hair....IS THE HOPE THAT I AM WRONG. That, and the realization that the person who obviously thought enough of this vine to take a cutting and care for it and nurture it did not have a clue of the ramifications of such an innocent action.
I have searched the web til my computer's tongue was hanging out and thought I had a few good possibilities. I had myself convinved that it had to be somethingelse from the pea family, like hog peanut, or, the best one until I read more about it--prostrate tick trefoil, Desmodium rotundifolium . Yes, surely there was a look-alike and I was just being hyperreactive. Then I read with falling hope that this last vine seldom reaches a length over 5 feet, and the leaves measured in cm NOT inches. Not the one at the top of the power pole. Those leaves are each as big as my hand! SO.....I am finishing this update and then I gotta strap on my boots, grab my knapsack and the can of OFF, and go get some samples from both sites for the DNR and the University of Illinois.
And I am most worried about how to casually get a cutting of that monster on the power pole. Any suggestions how to tactfully do that?? I guess I should be honest about why I want a sample. If I go the "oh what a pretty vine-do you mind if I get a cutting for my own yard" and it DOES turn out to be kudzu and then the weed cops pull up to rip and tear their pretty little flower to shreds...I might not be a person high on their list for a while for a while. Ah well...one pi$$ed-off person vs. the health of an entire watershed. Small trade-off I guess.
Let's hope I am COMPLETELY DEAD WRONG ON THIS ONE. |
RE: worst fears confirmed...it's KUDZU
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| Why don't you stop at that house and ask them what they think it is, and if they know about kudzu? If this weren't so serious.....it would be funny. It's like planting poison ivy in a pot!! (only worse!) |
RE: worst fears confirmed...it's KUDZU
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| ok...I have solved ONE of the riddles. I think. I did go to all three sites for samples: one for the small growth of "kudzu", one for a sample of chinese yam (the fellow at the DNR was VERY interested when we got to discussing invasives. Happy to know that until now there were no records of the yam-stuff in my county. :( , and finally stopped by with much trepidation to see about getting a bit of the bigger whatever. Well, as luck would have it the owner was mowing his yard right there and I eased into a discussion with him about the vine. He couldn't remember it at first, but then it came to him: hyacinth bean. He seemed kinda reluctant but he did eventually give me both a flower cluster AND a leaf cluster. THink he was studying my plate numbers too. Of course, I had beggar's lice and bit of twigs and leaves in my hair and looked a mess so no wonder. Anyway, first thing I did when I got home is look up the hyacinth bean and THANK GOODNESS it checks out. Native to Africa, Egypt, an annual that has to usually come from seed every year. But boy is it prolific. THis old boy just planted this this year and it was all the way up that pole. Hope it's not something else to worry about because he said his sister had LOADS of the seed and he was planning on keeping the seeds from his vine too. SO there, that obigger one is not kudzu. BIG EXHALE. THat leaves the smaller one, and I am still not sure what it is. We shall find out tomorrow! Hopefully just another legume that looks like its sinister cuz. Now if only the chinese yam were not what it is. Fat chance-I already know that ain't going to happen..... |
RE: worst fears confirmed...it's KUDZU
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| Dirtgirl........can you post a pic of it? |
RE: worst fears confirmed...it's KUDZU
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| Can I breath now? Good grief I didn't realize I was holding my breath thru your post. Keep us posted dirtgirl..... Terry |
RE: worst fears confirmed...it's KUDZU
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Looking back at my posts I realize I was kinda close to foaming at the mouth there. I guess anytime I stumble across stuff like this that really scares the hair off my head I tend to rabid-ize a bit much.
Maybe it's because everyday I come across people who don't know about their environment and what's going on, good and bad, and quite a few don't care to know, either. Maybe this was a false alarm and I'm going to come off sounding like the little boy who cried kudzu, but this is exactly how some things get their start. I'd rather be wrong and feel better about having done something unnecessarily than to find out later that I woulda, shoulda, coulda. |
RE: worst fears confirmed...it's KUDZU
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| kudzu leaf is unlike any other that I've seen. Keep up the good work, dirtgirl! |
Here is a link that might be useful: Leaf close up
RE: worst fears confirmed...it's KUDZU
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| dirtgirl, I felt everything you were feeling, hence my holding my breath! I swear, you need to write for a native/wildlife mag. I'm afraid to go look at the photo posted by rhizo because my parents have something in the woods beside their home in AR.....and I never got close enough to the crap to put the image of the leaf in my head. I can see it clearly covering everything in it's path, but the leaf.....I've got to go look..... |
RE: worst fears confirmed...it's KUDZU part 2
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| I don't think that's it!! I sent the link (thanks rhizo) to my dad since they're there. Any suggestions on what he should do if it is?? |
RE: worst fears confirmed...it's KUDZU
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| Have your Dad send some good images our way and we'll ID it. He can send them to me and I'll make sure it's identified. |
RE: worst fears confirmed...it's KUDZU
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| Thank you! I'll email him now and hopefully he can get out a take a pic of the leaf before they leave. |
RE: worst fears confirmed...it's KUDZU
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ok, I'm back. I will try-no promises- to post both a pic of kudzu AND of the hyacinth bean for comparison.
I will say, though, before I do this, that one thing I learned about kudzu is that there can be be quite a bit of subtle variation among different specimens. It's always trifoliate, but there can be lobed or non-lobed variants, AND, oddly enough, there are even plants with yellow, white, or very light pinkish flowers in addition to the standard purplish hues. As if it weren't confusing enough already.
Having said that, here are my attempts at linking or posting pics. Have patience! first, a fair picture of hyacinth bean, although leaf detail is hard to see in this one. second link is kudzu, a cluster with unlobed leaflets.
Thirdly, also kudzu, but this time lobed. (ewwwww...looks like poison ivy there!!!!) The fourth link is an image of kudzu that I chose for comparison with the first image of hyacinth bean.
Maybe I will find a good close-up of the leaf of the HB for additional comparison...let's see...ok. THe last link isn't the best for detail but it will have to do. I just hope any of this is usable... www.invasive.org/browse/detail.cfm?imgnum=0016125 this is kudzu, unlobed www.invasive.org/browse/detail.cfm?imgnum=0016124 kudzu, lobed http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/8041/ more hyacinth bean for comparison. Ok, it looks like I will flunk out on Posting 101 today. I wish I had time to mess around with this but I don't right now so I am afraid it will come down to your having to copy/paste. THe link for the first shot of thr hyacinth bean didn't work...unavailable when I tried linking back to it. THe second two ARE of kudzu and the remaining are of the hyacinth bean. Still looks amazingly like the bad stuff to me, and I even came across some kudzu images with purple stems, just like the hyacinthbean.
I hope this mess was helpful to SOMEBODY. |
RE: worst fears confirmed...it's KUDZU ps
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| Oh and if you feel like yelling at me for being such a techno-idiot, you will have to forward all complaints to the county lock-up. Since I just violated all kinds of copyright by pirating those pics from the web without consent, I'll probably be doing an Arlo Guthrie, sitting in there on the bench with mother-stabbers and father-rapers. I'll try to get it together, I promise. |
RE: worst fears confirmed...it's KUDZU
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| just trying to help.... dirtgirl's first link posted |
Here is a link that might be useful: kudzu unlobed
second link
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| same as above....next link gardenweb doesn't "like" these links for some reason. i keep being told invalid url...then i try again and it loads. trial 3 coming up. |
Here is a link that might be useful: kudzu, lobed
last one
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Here is a link that might be useful: hyacinth bean
RE: worst fears confirmed...it's KUDZU
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| I bow before you, fairy toadmother. SO MUCH easier than copy/paste! I am going to call the University of Illinois extension office here in a bit...took the samples by a week ago today and have yet to hear anything so I guess I will have to make a pest of myself. I hate having to do that. I know they have lots more important things to do than sit and stare at bits of plant in a ziploc.
Hey terryr, what's the situation on your end??
Hopefully just some crazy obscure kudzu look-alike from Africa that grows like mad in a year's time and then dies back completely come winter. At least we hope it dies. |
RE: worst fears confirmed...it's KUDZU
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| you are most welcome. no bowing necessary :) |
RE: worst fears confirmed...it's KUDZU
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| I read when we were in so carolina that farmers have taken to renting out their goats to keep kudzu under control. Turns out, a dozen goats all eating everything in sight will raze a whole mess of kudzu pretty fast. It's good and nutritious too so they make lots of milk and baby goats. The kudzu comes back but not right away. Then you call out the goats again. Maybe you could try borrowing someone's goat to get rid of the kudzu you found. |
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