The South/environment: Ecological Exotica

The land of cotton, Spanish moss and magnolias has other distinctive and less felicific flora—and fauna—that can all but grab the unwary. Some examples that would catch a Yankee's eye:

KUDZU. Imported from the Orient for use as an ornamental vine, kudzu has a wisteria-like purple bloom and a smell similar to that of grape soda. It also grows at a phenomenal rate; in rural areas, naughty children are warned that they will be thrown into the kudzu patch and quickly swallowed up. The threat is not entirely unrealistic. Kudzu grows so fast that it can cover an abandoned car in a...