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Pueraria phaseoloides
Fabaceae FAMILY

Pueraria phaseoloides

Pueraria phaseoloides

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitClimber
GrowthFast

Tropical kudzu is a plant of the wet tropics, where it is found at elevations up to ,1,600 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 15 - 30°c, but can tolerate 12 - 35°c[1]. When dormant, the plant can survive temperatures down to about -2°c, but young growth can be severely damaged at -1°c[1]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,200 - 3,200mm, but tolerates 850 - 4,300mm[1]. Requires a sunny position in a well-drained soil[2]. Succeeds in most soils of at least moderate fertility[1]. Prefers a pH in the range 4.5 - 6.5, tolerating 3.5 - 8[1]. The plant can send its roots down 1.5 metres into the soil, which probably explains why it can continue to grow during dry periods[1]. Pueraria phaseoloides has been extensively introduced in tropical and subtropical region of the world for use as forage for livestock, to control soil erosion, and to improve the soil. It is a vigorous, fast-growing vine that is listed as one of the most aggressive weeds that are invading moist habitats in tropical and subtropical regions. It spreads by seeds and by runners, which enable it to multiply rapidly and quickly colonize large areas of forest. It 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, it is classified as a ‘noxious weed’ in the United States, and as an invasive species in Costa Rica, Ecuador, Puerto Rico and Pacific Islands including Hawaii, Fiji, French Polynesia, Niue and New Caledonia[3]. Young plants grow away slowly for the first 3 - 4 months, but then grow rapidly and can cover the ground with their sprawling stems to a depth of 60 - 75cm within 12 months[1]. The species has been classified into 3 varieties:- Var phaseoloides is a cultivated strain. It is sometimes naturalized in west Africa and the Americas. Var javanica is another cultivated strain. It is widely naturalized in Africa and the Americas. Var subspicata is truly wild and occurs spontaneously in south and southeast Asia[4]. 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[2].

Propagation

Pre-soak the seed for 12 hours in warm water and sow in a warm greenhouse in early spring. Germination should take place within 2 weeks. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them out after the last expected frosts[2]. Cover the young plants with a frame or cloche until they are growing away well. Cuttings of the current season's growth usually root well[5]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Pueraria+phaseoloides>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  2. [2]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  3. [3]Invasive Species Compendium — http://www.cabi.org ↩︎An immense resource - in depth information on over 900 species of invasive plants (it also has information on animals, fungi etc).
  4. [4]Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants — http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336 ↩︎Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.
  5. [5]Revision of the Genus Pueraria DC., with some notes on Teyleria Backer — Ven der Maesen L.J.G. · Agricultural University,Wageningen,theNetherlands · 1985 · ISBN 90-6754-066-8 ↩︎
  6. [6]Flora of China — Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. · 1994 · http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available.
  7. [7]Tanaka's Cyclopedia of Edible Plants of the World. — Tanaka. T. & Nakao S. · Keigaku Publishing; Tokyo · 1976 · ISBN - ↩︎The most comprehensive list of edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
  8. [8]Plants for Human Consumption. — Kunkel. G. · Koeltz Scientific Books · 1984 · ISBN 3874292169 ↩︎An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of Latin names with a brief list of edible parts.
  9. [9]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
  10. [10]Medicinal Plants of the Guianas — DeFilipps, R. A.; Maina, S. L.; & Crepin, J. · Smithsonian Museum · http://botany.si.edu/bdg/medicinal/index.html ↩︎A down-loadable PDF document of a book in pre-publication awaiting illustration. An excellent, if rather terse, guide to the traditional medicinal uses of the plants of the region
  11. [11]Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). — Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. · Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. · 1986 · ISBN - ↩︎Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.