Family | Fabaceae (alt. Leguminosae) |
Subfamily | Faboideae |
Tribe | Phaseoleae |
Subtribe | Glycininae |
Scientific name | Pueraria montana (Loureiro) Merrill var. lobata (Willdenow) Maesen & S. M. Almeida ex Sanjappa & Predeep |
Synonyms | Dolichos hirsutus Thunberg; Dolichos japonica hort.; Dolichos lobatus Willdenow; Neustanthus chinensis Bentham; Pachyrhizus thunbergianus Siebold & Zuccarini; Pueraria hirsuta (Thunberg) Matsumura; Pueraria hirsuta (Thunberg) C. Schneider; Pueraria lobata (Willdenow) Ohwi; Pueraria lobata (Willdenow) Ohwi var. chinensis (Bentham) Ohwi; Pueraria lobata (Willdenow) Ohwi var. insularis M. Mizushima; Pueraria pseudohirsuta Tang & F. T. Wang; Pueraria thunbergiana (Siebold & Zuccarini) Bentham; Pueraria triloba (Houttuyn) Makino |
Common name | (Japanese common name) kudzu (クズ, 葛 [meaning: Kuzu vine (Kuzu = an old name of a local area in Nara Prefecture)]) |
(English common name) kudzuranker, kudzu-vine | |
Distribution | (Japan) Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu |
(Other nations) Russia, Korea, China, Taiwan, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu | |
Habitat | Field, forest edge, riverside |
Chromosomal number | 2n=22, 24 |
Description | Leaves ternate, leaflets each 10-15cm long, 10-15cm wide, hairy at lower surface. Flowers deep purple 18-20mm long, flowering in July to September. Fruits 6-8cm long, 18-20mm wide, hairy. Perennial plants or subshrub. |
Reference | Pueraria montana (Lour.) Merr. var. lobata (Willd.) Maesen & S. M. Almeida ex Sanjappa & Predeep |
Pueraria montana (Lour.) Merr. var. lobata (Willd.) Maesen & S. Almeida | |
Polynucleotides and polypeptides that confer increased biomass and tolerance to cold, water deprivation and low nitrogen to plants (US Patent 7196245/2007) | |
Compositions based on Phyto-oestrogen extracts for the treatment of menopausal and pre-menstrual syndrome, benige prostate hypertrophy, and polycystic ovary syndrome (WIPO Patent WO/2006/131799) | |
Extracts of Gynostemma and compositions for reducing blood lipid levels (WIPO Patent WO/2007/065539) |
August 2007 at open field |
August 2007 at open field |
August 2007 at open field |
September 2006 at edge of forest |
September 2008 at forest edge |
September 2008 at forest edge |