Before going home I have to still post one major item I encountered in Alabama: Kudzu. Kudzu is an invasive plant brought to the US from Southeast Asia in 1876 for the Philadelphia Continental Exposition as an ornamental plant and shade producer.
In the 1930s it was planted to reduce soil erosion in the US South. After the era of cotton ran out and people moved North, kudzu plants were left unattended and thrived. In 1953 kudzu was removed from the list of useful plants and was eventually added to the Federal Noxious Weed List.
It spreads very rapidly, takes over plants, ravines, trees, power lines, and even houses and has no use in the US today. In Asian countries the roots are used for medicine, and flowers are used for a sweet jelly.
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