kudzu

Plural: kudzus

Noun

• fast-growing vine from eastern Asia having tuberous starchy roots and hairy trifoliate leaves and racemes of purple flowers followed by long hairy pods containing many seeds; grown for fodder and forage and root starch; widespread in the southern United States
• An Asian vine (several species in the genus Pueraria, but mostly Pueraria montana var. lobata, syn. Pueraria lobata in the US), grown as a root starch, and which is a notorious invasive weed in the United States.
• A starch extracted from the root that is used in traditional East Asian medicine and cuisine.
• pl. -S an Asian vine

Synonyms

kudzu vine, Pueraria lobata, Japanese arrowroot, kudzu powder, mile-a-minute