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Stern

The True Story of Kudzu, the Vine That Never Truly Ate the South (www.smithsonianmag.com)

submitted 3 weeks ago by Stern to c/neat

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[–] ikidd 5 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

TL;dr - cows and an imported bug keep it down.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Better tl;dr, its growth was largely mythologized because it was seen as a potential dust bowl solution. The myth survived because it does incredibly well in sunny places, such as along roadsides, but does far more poorly in shady forests.

So wherever you drive, you can see kudzu consuming “everything” but just beyond that wall of green, it quickly tapers out.

Edit: I will say, the article is really great and worth a read on its own merit.