k wrote:
] Native to India, vetiver is taking root in a growing number
] of tropical countries, where it is used as an engineering tool
] to solve problems from soil erosion to pollution cleanup.
]
] Key to the plant's performance: It grows a thick and seemingly
] impenetrable tangle of roots that plunge 13 feet (4 meters)
] straight into the ground. The roots essentially form a wall of
] steel that prevents erosion-prone slopes from slipping away.
]
] Vetiver is not only cheap to grow but resistant to pests and
] disease. The grass soaks up pollutants and improves crop
] yields. What's more, it can grow in any kind of soil on any
] kind of slope in just about any tropical region that is free
] of freezing temperatures.
]
] Okay, I've read a number of articles about kudzu. Am I the
] only person who thinks this sounds like a potential Big
] Mistake.
]
] [ Yeah, sounds to me like it's about the same. In 20 years
] they'll be driving around with trucks of herbicide,
] desperately trying to kill this crap, just like they do with
] the kudzu here in GA. I swear, there are whole sections of
] woods whose visible face is a solid wall of kudzu, all the way
] to the tree tops. -k]

Incorrect.

"Stabile Plant

Because vetiver seeds are sterile and the plant's roots grow straight down, the grass stays wherever planted, Rachmeler said.

Vetiver is an exotic grass everywhere except India. But since the plant's seeds are sterile, the grass does not spread like an invasive species. (The plant can be raised from cuttings.)

When vetiver is planted in hedges—as it is in slope-stabilization projects—only water, not soil, can pass through. Over time, natural terraces are formed that are permanently stabilized."

RE: Grass Grows 13-Foot Roots of 'Steel'