Eastern Forest Threat Center - Tatarian Honeysuckle

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Tatarian honeysuckle leaves and flowers

Tatarian honeysuckle leaves and flowers

Patrick Breen, Oregon State University, Bugwood.org

Tatarian Honeysuckle
Lonicera tatarica

Tatarian honeysuckle was introduced into the U.S. from Asia in the 1700s and 1800s. It has been used as an ornamental and as a plant for wildlife.

Keywords: Caprifoliaceae, tardily deciduous, shrub, flaking bark, fragrant flowers, extended stamen, tubular petals, glossy berries, root sprouts, thickets

Distribution Map Distribution Source Image

Threat Description

Tatarian honeysuckle is a tardily deciduous, upright, arching-branched shrub that grows to 10 ft. in height. Its stem is opposite branched and light tan with a braided-strand appearance. Bark is often flaking, and older branches are hollow. Leaves, which persist in winter, are opposite in two rows, ovate to oblong, and up to 4 in. long. They are hairless with entire margins and short pointed tips. Fragrant flowers occur from February to June in axillary, bracted short-stemmed clusters, each with one to several white to yellow (some pink to red) flowers with five extended stamen. Petals are tubular, flaring to a four-lobed upper lip and a single-lobed lower lip. Abundant spherical, glossy berries paired in leaf axils occur from June to February. They are green becoming pink and ripening to red (sometimes yellow or orange) and usually persist in winter. Seeds are dispersed by birds and other animals and are long-lived in the soil. Tatarian honeysuckle also colonizes by root sprouts. It is relatively shade tolerant and often forms dense thickets in open forests, forest edges, abandoned fields, pastures, roadsides, and other open upland habitats.