Invasion of the Vine that Ate the South – Design You Trust

Invasion of the Vine that Ate the South

0

No really, that’s its nickname, “the vine that ate the South“; Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Florida most notably swallowed by the invader so far.

1

Kudzu is known as the most serious and aggressive invasive plant in the United States, spreading in the southern states at a rate of 150,000 acres a year, thirty centimeters a day, swallowing everything in its path, destroying power lines, buildings, and killing native vegetation in the process.

2

Swedish photographer Helene Schmitz has captured the beautiful but dangerous phenomenon. She calls it the Kudzu Project.

3

The powerful plant species originates from China, but in 1876 the Japanese offered it as a gift to the United States at their pavilion for the Centennial Exposition held in Philadelphia. It was promoted as a super plant that could grow rapidly to prevent soil erosion, and provide high-protein cattle fodder.

4

In Japanese cuisine, it’s considered the “world’s greatest cooking starch”. When kudzu was introduced to the Southeast at the New Orleans Exposition in 1883, the species was marketed as the perfect ornamental vine to shade your porch and planted in thousands of gardens of the deep South, along sun-drenched roads and even beside railway tracks to prevent erosion. By 1946, it was estimated that 3 million acres of kudzu had been planted.

5
6
7
8
10
h/t: messynessychic

If you want more awesome content, subscribe to 'Oh, Design You Trust,' our brand new Facebook page! Trust me, you won't be disappointed.

More Inspiring Stories

The Crazy Swing At Casa Del Arbol in Ecuador
Inside Sweden's Ice Hotel Made Entirely of Snow and Ice with Incredible Suites
Frozen Beauty: The Look Inside Europe’s Largest Glacier
Sky Burial - Tibetans Perform Celestial Burial Ceremony (NSFW)
Inside the Gruesome Mummies of Guanajuato in the 1950s
The Earth From Space Through The Eyes Of French Astronaut Thomas Pesquet
My Fucking Restaurant Is Open For Business In Barcelona, Spain
Penitentes - The Strange Snow Formations
PaddyWagon: An Inflatable Irish Pub You Can Open Anywhere
Arctic Expedition Discover Mysterious Hole Cut Into The Ice
Instagram Duo Travels The World Snapping Locations From Their Favourite Series
Photographer Spends Three Years Travelling The World To Capture Stunning Landscape Images At Sunrise And Sunset
Pack All The Things! Here Is The Ultimate Burning Man Checklist
Glass Beach: Where Nature Has Turned Pollution Into Beauty
Western United States In The 1960s: Colorful Life In The American West 50 Years Ago Through Amazing Found Photos
Welcome To Creepy Island Of Broken Dolls On Teshuilo Lake In Mexico
I Follow You! Christian LeBlanc Copies Instagram Craze With Photos Of Girlfriend Leading Him
The Ghost Villages Of Indonesia
Stunning Colorized Photos Of The Discovery Of The Tutankhamun's Tomb In The 1920s
The Snow Town Theme Park Lets Children In Thailand Experience Snow For First Time
Amazing Scenery of "Rotten Sea"
The other Side of Bengaluru - India’s IT capital
These Photos From An Abandoned Doll Factory Will Fuel All Of Your Nightmares
South African Rhinos Relocated to Escape Poachers