kudzu?
Yes, the young leaves are edible! I have tried it, it’s tough, cook it like spinach. The south will never starve lol...
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Raw roots (per 100 g edible portion) contain 113 calories, 68.6 percent moisture, 2.1 g protein, 0.1 g fat, 27.8 total carbohydrate, 0.7 g fiber, 1.4 g ash, 15 mg Ca, 18 mg P, and 0.6 mg Fe. Starch of roots contains (per 100 g) 340 calories, 16.5 percent moisture, 0.2 g protein, 0.1 g fat, 83.1 g total carbohydrate, 0.1 g ash, 35 mg Ca, 18 mg P, 2.0 mg Fe, and 2 mg, Na. Cooked leaves contain (per 100 g) 36 calories, 89.0 percent moisture, 0.4 g protein, 0.1 g fat, 9.7 g total carbohydrate. 7.7 g fiber, 0.8 fat, 34 mg Ca, 20 mg P, 4.9 mg Fe, 0.03 mg thiamin, 0.91 mg riboflavin, 0.8 mg niacin. Feeding trials on goats indicated that kudzu hay (protein, 10.3; total dig. nutrients, 28.7; and starch equivalent, 16.1 kg 100 kg) compared well with cowpea bay, berseem hay and wheat bran in digestible protein value, but was inferior to legume hays in starch equivalent.
Kudzu is primarily, grown for pasture, hay, and silage. It is palatable to all types of livestock. Kudzu is nearly equal to alfalfa in nutritive value. Leaves, shoots and roots are eaten by some humans. Useful fiber is obtained from stems, and starch is obtained from the tuberous root (roots up to 35 kg each). In China and Japan Ko-fen flour, made from the roots, is used in soups. Said to be cultivated for its tuber in the uplands of New Guinea and New Caledonia. Used for erosion control and soil improvement on banks, slopes and gullies where a permanent planting is desired. It is used as shade, planted around buildings.
https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/Pueraria_lobata.html