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Description
Japanese honeysuckle (lonicera japonica) is a woody perennial trailing or twining vine. Its individual runners can grow more than 30 feet in length; it roots at the nodes of the pubescent runners. Leaves are simple, opposite and oval to oblong in shape. Occasionally, young leaves are lobed. Japanese honeysuckle's flowers are fragrant, two-lipped, one to two inches in length, and white, changing to yellow with age. Fruit is a many-seeded, purple-black, pulpy berry.
Preferred Habitat
Japanese honeysuckle is found in thickets, borders of woods and roadsides, and meadows. It occurs primarily in areas where natural or human disturbances have provided a light gap in the canopy. It can also be found in shaded areas, but most rapid growth occurs in areas exposed to sun.
Seasonal cycle
Japanese honeysuckle flowers from late May through the summer, and fruits from July through the fall. Late in the season, it continues photosynthesis after most associated native plants have become dormant. The stem and some of the leaves persist through the winter, resulting in an evergreen or semi-evergreen plant.
Distribution
In North America, Japanese honeysuckle, a member of the honeysuckle family, is naturalized from Maine, Massachusetts, and New York, south to Texas and Florida and west to Missouri and Indiana.
Other Points of Interest
Not native to this area, Japanese honeysuckle was introduced to North America from Japan in the 1800s as an ornamental shrub and vine. It has also been used for soil erosion control along railroads and highways. The berries of Japanese honeysuckle are a source of food for wildlife, especially mockingbirds, and other birds that disperse seeds. It is a serious threat to native plant species because of its capacity to strangle and destroy supporting trees and shrubs.
Japanese honeysuckle is distinct from two other trailing honeysuckles, the trumpet honeysuckle (L. sempervirens) and wild honeysuckle (L. dioica), found in Connecticut. The fruits of the other honeysuckles are red to orange-red berries, and their uppermost pair of leaves are joined together.
Control
Being semi-evergreen, Japanese honeysuckle is easier to detect during the fall when most native species have dropped their leaves. Control methods for Japanese honeysuckle in areas of heavy and light infestations include mowing, grazing, prescribed burning, and the application of herbicides. Mowing and grazing reduces the spread of vegetative stems but does not completely remove the vegetation; instead, vigorous resprouting increases stem density. Small populations may be controlled by careful hand pulling, grubbing with a hoe or shovel, and removing trailing vines. Glyphosate herbicide (1.5-2% solution, applied during the fall before a hard freeze) is recommended to control Japanese honeysuckle. Care must be taken not to harm native species as the glyphosate herbicide is non-selective.
Diagnostic Information
Leaves: ovate or oblong (1-1/2" to 3" long); roundish or broadly cuneate at base; glabrescent or hairy; short petioled, green. Young leaves may be pinnately lobed. Flowers: two-lipped flowers (1"-2" in length); borne in pairs in axils of young branches; the tube about equaling the limb; extremely fragrant; opposite, white, changing to yellow with age. Fruit: a many-seeded, purple-black berry (1/4" diameter). Stems and branches: trailing or twining woody vine. Stems are pubescent.
Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photo © Richard Old, XID Services, Inc., Bugwood.org (Japanese honeysuckle); Photo © Chuck Bargeron, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org (Japanese honeysuckle).
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