Laboratory and greenhouse studies were conducted to determine the effect of several environmental factors on seed germination and seedling emergence of the invasive weed Pueraria lobata (kudzu). Germination occurred over a range of alternating temperatures from 15/6 to 35/25 C. Seed germinated equally well in alternating light/darkness and continuous darkness. At all temperature regimes, percentage germination was much greater for hand-scarified seed (95 to 100%) than for nonscarified seed (7 to 17%), indicating that P. lobata seed possesses physical dormancy. Germination exceeded 51% in solutions with pH 5 to 9. Maximum germination (99%) was observed in distilled water at pH 5.4. Germination was greatly reduced in solutions with osmotic potentials below −0.4 MPa (28% at −0.6 MPa, and 13% at −0.9 MPa); no germination was observed at −1.3 MPa. Percentage emergence was greater than 45% at burial depths in soil of 0.5 to 10 cm, with maximal emergence (72 to 85%) at depths of 0.5 to 4 cm. Seed sown on the soil surface had low seedling emergence (< 13%). No seedlings emerged when seed was exposed to flooding for 7 d or more. Pueraria lobata seed is capable of germinating in a variety of climatic and edaphic conditions, but flooding may severely limit establishment of stands by seed.