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Lonicera japonica

(Chinese Honeysuckle)

Overview

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Ornamental shrub from Asia.

Lonicera japonica is an extremely vigorous vine which grows up through the canopy of trees , smothering and ultimately killing the host tree. It is shade and drought tolerant , though it needs full to partial sunlight to grow successfully. L. japonica is beneficial as winter forage for white tail deer and is used for this purpose by wildlife managers. Birds and cotton-tailed rabbits also eat the seeds and leaves of the vine. It provides a habitat cover of twisted vines for birds and small mammals. Landscapers use it because of its fragrant smell. It is considered a valuable medical herb in China, where it is used to treat chicken pox and to maintain human vascular homeostasis .

Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in Chinese:

Jin Yin Hua, Ren Dong

Common Names in English:

Chinese Honeysuckle, Hall's Honeysuckle, Halls Honeysuckle, Japanese Honeysuckle, Madreselva

Common Names in French:

Clématite Du Japon

Common Names in German:

Japanisches Geißblatt, Japanisches Geissblatt

Common Names in Japanese:

Nindo, Sui-Kazura, Suikazura

Common Names in Portuguese:

Madressilva

Common Names in Russian:

žimolost Japonskaja, жимолост японская

Common Names in Spanish:

Madreselva

Description

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Physical Description

Species Lonicera japonica

Japanese honeysuckle is a perennial vine that climbs by twisting its stems around vertical structures, including limbs and trunks of shrubs and small trees . Leaves are oblong to oval , sometimes lobed , have short stalks , and occur in pairs along the stem. In southern and mid-Atlantic states, Japanese honeysuckle often remains evergreen – its leaves remain attached through the winter. In colder northern climates, the leaves may fall off after exposure to prolonged winter temperatures . Flowers are tubular , with five fused petals, white to pink, turning yellow with age, very fragrant, and occur in pairs along the stem at leaf junctures . Stems and leaves are sometimes covered with fine, soft hairs . Japanese honeysuckle blooms from late April through July and sometimes into October. Small black fruits are produced in autumn, each containing 2-3 oval to oblong, dark brown seeds about 1/4 inch across.[1]

L. japonica is an evergreen in its southern range and semi-evergreen in its northern range. Stems are hollow with peeling reddish-brown bark and usually 2 to 3 m long when developed. Leaves are 4 to 8 cm long and ovate in shape . L. japonica produces white to yellowish tubular flowers that are 2.5 to 5 cm long and black berries that contain 2 to 12 seeds. The seeds are 2 to 3 mm long, ovate in shape, and dark brown to black in colour . Flowers are produced during summer and “fruit mature and are dispersed during autumn in eastern United States" (Hidayati et al. 2000). The blooming period extends from April to December in Georgia (Andrews 1919), late May to October in Kentucky (Nuzzo 1997), May to June in Illinois (Mohlenbrock 1986), and June in Michigan (Nuzzo 1997).

ID Features: A twining vine or groundcover. Stems pubescent. Evergreen or semievergreen tendencies. Flowers white, fading to yellow. Flowers fragrant.

Habit: A twining , climbing vine or prostrate and trailing semi-evergreen groundcover. Tends to be a weedy and rampant grower.

Flowers: Flowers are white and fade to yellow. Bloom time is mid-June. Flowers are fragrant. Relatively showy in full bloom. • Bloom Period: April, May. • Flower Color: near white, pale yellow, white

Seeds: Fruit: Small, black fruit. Not really of any ornamental significance.

Foliage: Summer foliage: Opposite, simple leaves. Evergreen , semievergreen, or deciduous, depending on the climate. Leaf shape is ovate . Leaves are 1.25" to 3.25" long. Leaf color is a dark, lustrous green. Young leaves and stems are pubescent . • Fall foliage: Leaves turn a bronze or purple.

Size/Age/Growth

Growth Rate: Vigorous. • Size: Can spread or climb 15' to 30' feet. As groundcover, it usually doesn't get much over 2' tall.

Landscaping

Landscape Uses: Barrier . Erosion control. Screen . Groundcover. Useful on banks. Difficult sites. For fragrance of flowers. • Liabilities: A rampant and weedy grower needing to be contained in some circumstances. Not evergreen in zones 6 or colder.

Habitat

A ubiquitous invader, Japanese honeysuckle thrives in a wide variety of habitats including fields , forests , wetlands, barrens , and all types of disturbed lands.[1]

L. japonica is found in a variety of habitats, including fields, forest edges and openings, disturbed woods, and floodplains . It is shade and drought tolerant , though it needs full to partial sunlight to grow successfully. L. japonica is still planted in gardens and along roadsides for landscaping purposes. It is hardy to zone 5.

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 4,653 meters (0 to 15,266 feet).[2]

Ecology: Invasive: In North America, Japanese honeysuckle has few natural enemies which allows it to spread widely and out-compete native plant species. Its evergreen to semi-evergreen nature gives it an added advantage over native species in many areas. Shrubs and young trees can be killed by girdling when vines twist tightly around stems and trunks , cutting off the flow of water through the plant. Dense growths of honeysuckle covering vegetation can gradually kill plants by blocking sunlight from reaching their leaves. Vigorous root competition also helps Japanese honeysuckle spread and displace neighboring native vegetation.[1]

L. japonica competes with natives for light and nutrients . It outcompetes natives by spreading rapidly and completely covering and toppling small trees and shrubs in the process . This prevents the understory and small trees from developing, causing a reduction in forest understory diversity. The newly opened understory causes L. japonica to spread rapidly and provide habitat to other invasives, such as Hedera helix (English ivy) and Pueraria montana (kudzu).

Control:

Several effective methods of control are available for Japanese honeysuckle, including chemical and non-chemical, depending on the extent of the infestation and available time and labor.[1]

Biology

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Reproduction

Growth and spread of Japanese honeysuckle is through vegetative (plant growth) and sexual (seed) means. It produces long vegetative runners that develop roots where stem and leaf junctions (nodes) come in contact with moist soil. Underground stems (rhizomes) help to establish and spread the plant locally. Long distance dispersal is by birds and other wildlife that readily consume the fruits and defecate the seeds at various distances from the parent plant.[1]

L. japonica reproduces vegetatively and by seed. Seeds are spread mostly by birds, which ingest the berries and excrete the seeds. L. japonica plants spread by way of aboveground runners that root at the nodes. The plants are pollinated by a variety of insects, such as bumblebees, butterflies, and especially hawkmoths, but in some areas may produce few fruits and seeds (Larson et al. 2002). Seeds require cold stratification to overcome dormancy (Hidayati et al. 2000). L. japonica produces 2 to 12 seeds per berry.

L. japonica has an extended growing season , owing to its evergreen nature.

Duration: Perennial

Growth

Culture: Easy to grow. Full sun to partial shade. Tolerant of difficult growing sites. Adaptable to most soils.

Soil: Minimum pH: 6.1 • Maximum pH: 7.8

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Sun to Partial Shade.

Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b. (map)

Taxonomy

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Synonyms

Caprifolium japonicum (Thunb.) Dum. Cours. • Lonicera japonica var. chinensis (P. W. Wats.) Baker • Nintooa japonica (Thunb.) Sweet

Notes

Publishing author : Thunb. ex Murray Publication : Systema Vegetabilium 1784 (Jul. 1784)

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Lonicera

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 116 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:

L. acuminata (Honeysuckle) · L. albiflora (Western White Honeysuckle) · L. arizonica (Arizona Honeysuckle) · L. bella (Bell's Honeysuckle) · L. caerulea (Sweetberry Honeysuckle) · L. caerulea var. cauriana (Bluefly Honeysuckle) · L. caerulea var. edulis (Bearberry Honeysuckle) · L. caerulea var. edulis 'Kamchatka' (Bearberry Honeysuckle) · L. canadensis (American Fly Honeysuckle) · L. caprifolium (Honeysuckle) · L. chrysantha (Honeysuckle) · L. ciliosa (Orange Honeysuckle) · L. conjugialis (Double Honeysuckle) · L. dioica (Limber Honeysuckle) · L. dioica var. dioica (Limber Honeysuckle) · L. etrusca (Etruscan Honeysuckle) · L. ferdinandii (Honeysuckle) · L. flava (Yellow Honeysuckle) · L. fragrantissima (January Jasmine) · L. gracilipes (Honeysuckle) · L. henryi (Henrys Honeysuckle Lonicera Henryi) · L. henryi 'Copper Beauty' (Henrys Honeysuckle) · L. hildebrandiana (Giant Burmese Honeysuckle) · L. hirsuta (Hairy Honeysuckle) · L. hispidula (California Honeysuckle) · L. hispidula var. hispidula (Pink Honeysuckle) · L. hispidula var. vacillans (Pink Honeysuckle) · L. interrupta (Chaparral Honeysuckle) · L. involucrata (Bearberry Honeysuckle) · L. involucrata var. involucrata (Twinberry Honeysuckle) · L. involucrata var. ledebourii (Twinberry Honeysuckle) · L. japonica (Chinese Honeysuckle) · L. japonica 'Aureoreticulata' (Chinese Honeysuckle) · L. japonica 'Halliana' (Hall's Honeysuckle) · L. japonica 'Hall's Prolific' (Hall's Prolific Japanese Honeysuckle) · L. japonica 'Purpurea' (Purple-Leaf Japanese Honeysuckle) · L. kamsachatica 'Blue Velvet' (Honeysuckle) · L. koehneana (Honeysuckle) · L. korolkowii (Blueleaf Honeysuckle) · L. maackii (Amur Honeysuckle) · L. maximowiczii var. sachalinensis (Sakhalin Honeysuckle) · L. minutiflora (Smallflower Honeysuckle) · L. morrowii (Morrow Honeysuckle) · L. nitida (Box Honeysuckle) · L. nitida 'Baggesen's Gold' (Baggesen's Gold Boxleaf Honeysuckle) · L. nitida 'Ernest Wilson' (Box Honeysuckle) · L. nitida 'Lemon Beauty' (Box Honeysuckle) · L. nitida 'Maigrun' (Box Honeysuckle) · L. nitida 'Red Tips' (Box Honeysuckle) · L. nitida 'Silver Beauty' (Box Honeysuckle) · L. notha (Honeysuckle) · L. oblongifolia (Swamp Fly Honeysuckle) · L. oblongifolia var. oblongifolia (Swamp Fly Honeysuckle) · L. periclymenum (European Honeysuckle) · L. periclymenum 'Belgica' (Dutch Woodbine) · L. periclymenum 'Graham Thomas' (Honeysuckle) · L. periclymenum 'Harlequin' (Honeysuckle) · L. periclymenum 'La Gasnérie' (Honeysuckle) · L. periclymenum 'Manul' (Berries Jubilee Honeysuckle) · L. periclymenum 'Monul' (Berries Jubilee ® Woodbine Honeysuckle) · L. periclymenum 'Serotina' (Honeysuckle) · L. periclymenum 'Winchester' (Honeysuckle) · L. pileata (Privet Honeysuckle) · L. praeflorens (Honeysuckle) · L. reticulata (Grape Honeysuckle) · L. ruprechtiana (Manchurian Honeysuckle) · L. sempervirens (Coral Honeysuckle) · L. sempervirens 'Sulphurea' (Coral Honeysuckle) · L. sempervirens var. hirsutula (Trumpet Honeysuckle) · L. sempervirens var. sempervirens (Trumpet Honeysuckle) · L. sempervirens 'Alabama Crimson' (Coral Honeysuckle) · L. sempervirens 'Blanche Sandman' (Coral Honeysuckle) · L. sempervirens 'Cedar Lane' (Coral Honeysuckle) · L. sempervirens 'John Clayton' (Coral Honeysuckle) · L. sempervirens 'Magnifica' (Coral Honeysuckle) · L. sempervirens 'Major Wheeler' (Coral Honeysuckle) · L. sempervirens 'Manifich' (Coral Honeysuckle) · L. standishii (Bush Honeysuckle) · L. subspicata (Southern Honeysuckle) · L. subspicata ata (Santa Barbara Honeysuckle) · L. subspicata var. denudata (Santa Barbara Honeysuckle) · L. subspicata var. johnstonii (Johnston's Honeysuckle) · L. subspicata var. subspicata (Southern Honeysuckle) · L. syringantha (Lilac-Flowering Honeysuckle) · L. syringantha var. wolfii (Lilac-Flowering Honeysuckle) · L. tatarica (Bush Honeysuckle) · L. tatarica 'Arnold Red' (Arnold Red Tatarian Honeysuckle) · L. tatarica 'Arnold's Red' (Bush Honeysuckle) · L. tatarica 'Honeyrose' (Bush Honeysuckle) · L. tragophylla (Chinese Honeysuckle) · L. utahensis (Utah Honeysuckle) · L. villosa (Mountain Fly Honeysuckle) · L. villosa var. calvescens (Mountain Fly Honeysuckle) · L. villosa var. fulleri (Fuller's Honeysuckle) · L. villosa var. solonis (Mountain Fly Honeysuckle) · L. villosa var. tonsa (Mountain Fly Honeysuckle) · L. villosa var. villosa (Mountain Fly Honeysuckle) · L. xylosteoides (Fly Honeysuckle) · L. xylosteum (Dwarf Honeysuckle) · L. xylosteum L. 'Emerald Mound' (European Fly Honeysuckle)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 21, 2007:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Plant Conservation Alliance's Alien Plant Working Group. Least Wanted http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/fact/loja1.htm [back]
  2. Mean = 212.850 meters (698.327 feet), Standard Deviation = 437.970 based on 1,320 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
Last Revised: 7/14/2012