also: つづら
kudzu; Japanese arrowroot
Only with reading くず / クズ
Refers to the kudzu plant, especially the vine or the root used to make 葛粉. The usual reading is くず.
Kudzu starch is made from kudzu roots.
Kudzu is growing thick over the vacant lot.
山道の脇に葛のつるが伸びていた。
Kudzu vines were spreading beside the mountain path.
Chinese moonseed
Only when written 葛 · Only with reading つづら
Rare botanical use with the reading つづら, effectively referring to つづらふじ, Chinese moonseed, not the common kudzu sense read くず.
See also: つづらふじ
As a plant name, 葛 read tsuzura refers to Chinese moonseed.
Kudzu flowers bloom in autumn.
葛 and 屑 are pronounced identically (くず), but 葛 names the kudzu plant while 屑 means scraps, waste, or a worthless person.
Standard kanji spelling and common reading for kudzu or Japanese arrowroot.
Rare plant-name reading used for Chinese moonseed; easily confused with the common 葛 reading くず.
Attested katakana no-kanji form; useful in plant-name contexts. This word does not cover the homophonous slang or noun 屑.
The kanji 葛 is conventionally associated with kudzu or arrowroot-like vines. The historical derivation of the Japanese readings is uncertain.
arrowroot