kudzu

From Japanese クズ (葛, kuzu). The spelling kudzu (instead of kuzu) is due to historical transliteration methods of Japanese into English.

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈkʊd.zuː/

kudzu (usually uncountable, plural kudzus)

1. An Asian vine (several species in the genus Pueraria, but mostly Pueraria montans var. lobata, syn. Pueraria lobata in the US), grown as a root starch, and which is a notorious invasive weed in the United States.

   Synonyms: Japanese arrowroot, mile-a-minute

   • 2011 August 31, Ashley Dawson, “Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor: An Interview with Rob Nixon”, in Social Text‎:

     Walled off communities, private jets, private security details are spreading like kudzu around the world.

• The kudzu invasive in the US apparently includes natural hybrids of four species of Pueraria: Pueraria montana, Pueraria edulis, Pueraria phaseoloides, and Pueraria tuberosa

• kudzu on Wikipedia.Wikipedia