Taxon:  Pueraria montana (Lour.) Merr. var. lobata (Willd.) Maesen & S. M. Almeida ex Sanjappa & Predeep



Summary
Genus:
Pueraria
Family:
Fabaceae (alt. Leguminosae)
Subfamily:
Faboideae
Tribe:
Phaseoleae
Subtribe:
Glycininae
Nomen number:
314966
Place of publication:
M. Sanjappa, Legumes India 288.  1992 (L. J. G. van der Maesen & S. M. Almeida, J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 85:233.  1988, nom. inval.)
Comment:
Maesen & S. Almeida (1988) incorrectly cited the basionym as P. lobata var. lobata Ohwi
Verified:
04/21/1999 ARS Systematic Botanists.
Accessions:
0 (0  active, 0  available) in Nordic Baltic Genebanks. 
Other conspecific taxa
Pueraria montana (Lour.) Merr. (0 active accession[s])
Pueraria montana (Lour.) Merr. var. montana (0 active accession[s])
Pueraria montana (Lour.) Merr. var. thomsonii (Benth.) M. R. Almeida (0 active accession[s])
Reference(s)
  1. Conant, P. et al. 1997. Appendix. Selected plant species interfering with resource management goals in North American natural areas. Assessment and management of plant invasions. 255-267.
  2. Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs
  3. Henderson, L. 2001. Alien weeds and invasive plants: a complete guide to declared weeds and invaders in South Africa. Plant Protection Research Institute, Handbook 12 Note: = Pueraria lobata (Willd.) Ohwi
  4. Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
  5. International Seed Testing Association. 1982. A Multilingual Glossary of Common Plant-Names 1. Field crops, grasses and vegetables, ed. 2.
  6. Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan. Note: = Pueraria lobata
  7. Kartzinel, T. R. et al. 2015. Heterogeneity of clonal patterns among patches of kudzu, Pueraria montana var. lobata, an invasive plant. Ann. Bot. (Oxford) 116:739-750. Note: it found evidence of high genetic diversity within and among patches of assumed clonal plants; their finding implies that current methods of mowing control may increase genotypic diversity
  8. Kumar, S & P. V. Sane. 2003. Legumes of South Asia: a checklist.
  9. Leung, A. Y. & S. Foster. 1996. Encyclopedia of common natural ingredients used in food, drugs, and cosmetics, ed. 2 Note: = Pueraria lobata (Willd.) Ohwi
  10. Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada Note: = Pueraria lobata
  11. Lock, J. M. & C. S. Ford. 2004. Legumes of Malesia: a checklist
  12. Maesen, L. J. G. van der. 1994. Pueraria, the kudzu and its relatives: an update of the taxonomy. 67. Note: in M. Sørensen, Proc. 1st Int. Symp. Tuberous Legumes
  13. Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2 Note: = Pueraria lobata (Willd.) Ohwi
  14. McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
  15. Padua, L. S. de et al., eds. 1999. Medicinal and poisonous plants 1. Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 12(1):417.
  16. Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
  17. Seed Regulatory and Testing Division, Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S.D.A. State noxious-weed seed requirements recognized in the administration of the Federal Seed Act (updated annually).
  18. USDA National Agricultural Library. National Invasive Species Information Center (on-line resource).
  19. Wagner, W. L. et al. Flora of the Hawaiian Islands (on-line resource).
  20. Ward, D. B. 1998. Pueraria montana: the correct scientific name of the kudzu. Castanea 63:76-77.
  21. Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
  22. 2018. Mid-Atlantic invasive plant species (on-line resource)
Common names
LANGUAGENAMEALTERNATE NAMENOTESEQCITATION
English Japanese arrowroot as P. lobata 1 Erhardt, W. et al. 2008. Der große Zander: Enzyklopädie der Pflanzennamen
English kudsu as P. lobata 1 Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada Note: = Pueraria lobata
English kudzu 1 Wiersema, J. H. & B. León. 1999. World economic plants: a standard reference CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
Afrikaans kudzuranker as P. lobata 2 Henderson, L. 2001. Alien weeds and invasive plants: a complete guide to declared weeds and invaders in South Africa. Plant Protection Research Institute, Handbook 12 Note: = Pueraria lobata (Willd.) Ohwi
German Kudzubohne as P. lobata 2 Erhardt, W. et al. 2008. Der große Zander: Enzyklopädie der Pflanzennamen
Italian pueraria 2 International Seed Testing Association. 1982. A Multilingual Glossary of Common Plant-Names 1. Field crops, grasses and vegetables, ed. 2.
Japanese Rōmaji kuzu as P. lobata 2 Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan. Note: = Pueraria lobata
Transcribed Korean chilg as P. lobata 2 Mun-Chan, B. et al. 1986. A checklist of the Korean cultivated plants. Kulturpflanze 34:122.
Distribution
order_codeStatusContinentSubcontinentCountryStateNote
1NativeAsia-TemperateChinaChina  
1NativeAsia-TemperateEastern AsiaJapan  
1NativeAsia-TemperateEastern AsiaKorea  
1NativeAsia-TemperateEastern AsiaTaiwan  
1NativeAsia-TemperateRussian Far EastRussian FederationPrimorye 
1NativeAsia-TropicalIndo-ChinaThailand  
1NativeAsia-TropicalIndo-ChinaVietnam  
1NativeAsia-TropicalMalesiaIndonesia  
1NativeAsia-TropicalMalesiaMalaysia  
1NativeAsia-TropicalMalesiaPhilippines  
1NativeAsia-TropicalPapuasiaPapua New Guinea  
1NativeAsia-TropicalPapuasiaSolomon Islands  
1NativePacificSouthwestern PacificNew Caledonia  
1NativePacificSouthwestern PacificVanuatu  
4NaturalizedAfricaSouthern AfricaSouth AfricaMpumalanga 
4NaturalizedAfricaWest Tropical AfricaSierra Leone  
4NaturalizedAsia-TemperateCaucasusAzerbaijan  
4NaturalizedAsia-TemperateCaucasusGeorgia  
4NaturalizedAsia-TemperateMiddle AsiaTajikistan  
4NaturalizedAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentBhutan  
4NaturalizedAustralasiaAustraliaAustraliaNew South Walesn.e.
4NaturalizedAustralasiaAustraliaAustraliaQueensland 
4NaturalizedEuropeEastern EuropeUkraine  
4NaturalizedNorthern America United States  
4NaturalizedPacificNorth-Central PacificUnited StatesHawaii 
4NaturalizedPacificSouth-Central PacificFrench Polynesia  
4NaturalizedPacificSouthwestern PacificFiji  
4NaturalizedPacificSouthwestern PacificNiue  
4NaturalizedPacificSouthwestern PacificSamoa  
4NaturalizedPacificSouthwestern PacificTonga  
4NaturalizedPacificSouthwestern PacificUnited StatesAmerican Samoa 
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaCaribbeanHispaniola  
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaCentral AmericaPanama  
Native
Asia-Temperate
  • RUSSIAN FAR EAST: Russian Federation [Primorye]
  • CHINA: China
  • EASTERN ASIA: Korea, Japan, Taiwan
Asia-Tropical
  • PAPUASIA: Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands
  • INDO-CHINA: Thailand, Vietnam
  • MALESIA: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines
Pacific
  • SOUTHWESTERN PACIFIC: New Caledonia, Vanuatu
Naturalized
Africa
  • WEST TROPICAL AFRICA: Sierra Leone
  • SOUTHERN AFRICA: South Africa [Mpumalanga]
Asia-Temperate
  • CAUCASUS: Azerbaijan, Georgia
  • MIDDLE ASIA: Tajikistan
Asia-Tropical
  • INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: Bhutan
Australasia
  • AUSTRALIA: Australia [New South Wales (n.e.), Queensland]
Europe
  • EASTERN EUROPE: Ukraine
Northern America
  • REGION: United States
Pacific
  • NORTH-CENTRAL PACIFIC: United States [Hawaii]
  • SOUTH-CENTRAL PACIFIC: French Polynesia
  • SOUTHWESTERN PACIFIC: Fiji, Niue, Tonga, United States [American Samoa], Samoa
Southern America
  • CARIBBEAN: Hispaniola
  • CENTRAL AMERICA: Panama
Economic Uses
UsageTypeNoteReference
Animal foodfodder Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2 Note: = Pueraria lobata (Willd.) Ohwi
Animal foodforage Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2 Note: = Pueraria lobata (Willd.) Ohwi
Environmentalerosion control Maesen, L. J. G. van der. 1985. Revision of the genus Pueraria DC. with some notes on Teyleria Backer (Leguminosae). Agric. Univ. Wageningen Pap. 85-1:45. Note: = Pueraria lobata var. lobata
Human foodstarch Leung, A. Y. & S. Foster. 1996. Encyclopedia of common natural ingredients used in food, drugs, and cosmetics, ed. 2 Note: = Pueraria lobata (Willd.) Ohwi
Human foodvegetable Leung, A. Y. & S. Foster. 1996. Encyclopedia of common natural ingredients used in food, drugs, and cosmetics, ed. 2 Note: = Pueraria lobata (Willd.) Ohwi
Medicinesfolklore Padua, L. S. de et al., eds. 1999. Medicinal and poisonous plants 1. Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 12(1):417.
Medicinesfolklore Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs
Medicinesfolklore McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
Medicinesfolkloreas Pueraria pseudohirsutaYen, Kun-Ying. 1994. Illustrated Chinese materia medica crude and prepared.
Weed  Conant, P. et al. 1997. Appendix. Selected plant species interfering with resource management goals in North American natural areas. Assessment and management of plant invasions. 255-267.
Weed as Pueraria lobataHenderson, L. 2001. Alien weeds and invasive plants: a complete guide to declared weeds and invaders in South Africa. Plant Protection Research Institute, Handbook 12 Note: = Pueraria lobata (Willd.) Ohwi
Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2025. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: http://www.nordic-baltic-genebanks.org/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=314966. Accessed 3 May 2025.