The last thing a Chinese man was looking for when he was out digging was a Marvel superhero . But that 's exactly what Pan Yi found when he unearthed a kudzu vine tuber which looks uncannily like Groot from the Guardians of the Galaxy film . He was out digging with a friend deep in the mountains in Shiyan in central China 's Hubei Province . A woman poses with the kudzu vine tuber which looks uncannily like Marvel character Groot ( right ) The tuber was dug up in Shiyan in Hubei Province in central China by Pan Yi while he was out with a friend . Kudzu 's root , flower , and leaf have been used in traditional Chinese medicine since at least 200 BC . Groot ( right ) originally appeared as an invader of earth was reintroduced as a heroic , noble being in 2006 . The tree-like humanoid was originally a Marvel comic book character before the 2014 film and first appeared in graphic novels in 1960 . Groot originally appeared as an invader that intended to capture humans for experimentation but was reintroduced as a heroic , noble being in 2006 . The character certainly never appeared out of the ground in rural China . The unusually-shaped kudzu caused quite a stir and plenty of people were keen to pose with it . The large tuber is practically the same size as Pan Yi himself , who was interviewed about his unusual find . Kudzu 's root , flower , and leaf have been used in traditional Chinese medicine since at least 200 BC . Today , kudzu is used to treat alcoholism and to reduce symptoms of a hangover . It is also used for heart and circulatory problems , upper respiratory problems and skin problems . Tree-like humanoid was originally a Marvel comic book character before the 2014 film and first appeared in graphic novels in 1960 . A young boy and Pan Yi himself ( right ) pose with the human-like tuber . Kudzu is used to treat alcoholism .
Pan ##hao went camping with a friend in the mountains in Shiyan , Hubei , ca . Unearthed , which looks just like character from 2014 animated series . Tree - like humanoid first appeared as earth invader in comics in 1960 . Plenty wanted to pose with root , which is the same size as ya Yi himself . root 's root , flower , and leaf used in Chinese medicine since at least 200BC .