Jennifer Joyce Franklin, age 11, of Huntsville, Ala., for her question:

IN WHAT CLIMATE DOES THE KUDZU GROW BEST?

Kudzu is the name of a most interesting vine which is a native of Japan and China.

The plant will grow 60 feet high. It has a hairy stem, wide leaves and fragrant, violet purple flowers. The Orientals eat the thick, starchy roots and stems are made into a fiber called kohempf.

The kudzu likes temperate climate, and grows best where it can receive lots of warm weather. It can be raised from the roots, from cuttings or from seeds. It was brought to the United States in 1895 and it now grows widely in the South. Southern farmers use the kudzu to help prevent soil erosion. The plant grows rapidly and its many roots form a network that holds the soil. The nitrogen fixing bacteria that lives on the plant's roots enrich the soil.