About the Japanese Honeysuckle
Hello, this page is about the Japanese honeysuckle. The Japanese honeysuckle is an invasive plant species to Illinois and various parts of North America. What's that, you want to learn more? Well scroll down to find out more about this invasive plant.
Taxonomy of the plant
No, if you were wondering, we are not going to tax plants for being here. The taxonomy of the plant is what kingdom and species it is. The Japaneses honey suckle is a plant belonging to the kingdom of Plantae, the phylum of Magnoliopyta, the class of Magnoliopsida, the order of Dipsacales, the family of Caprifoliaceae, the genus of Lonicera, and the species of L. Japonica(10). Its scientific name is Lonicera japonica, but its common name is the japanese and Chinese honeysuckle(10). The japanese honey suckle is native to the eastern part of Asia(10).
The plant itself
Now the Japanese honeysuckle is an interesting plant.The japanese honey suckle as a plant is a semi-evergreen to evergreen woody vine with a high climbing and trailing about 80 feet(24 m) long(10). Branching can often form spotty to extensive arbors in lower and upper forest canopies and/or ground cover under canopies(10).
The Stem
The stem is an interesting part of the Japanese Honeysuckle plant.The stem of the japanese honeysuckle is a slender woody vine that becomes stout in diameter( 2 inches)(10). The have cross-section round and opposite branching(10). They bar at first brown and hairy and then becoming tan, barked, fissured, ands sloughing with age(10).
The Leaves
The leaves are another interesting part of the plant. The leaves are opposite and broadly ovate or elliptic or oblong and base rounded, and tips that are blunt pointed or round(10). They are 1.6 to 2.6 inches in length with a width of 0.8 to 1.5 inches(10). Margins entire but are usually lobed in early spring(10).
The Flower
The flowers bloom in April all the way to august, and bloom in auxiliary pairs. The auxiliary pairs are each 0.8 to 1.2 inches long on a bracted stalk. The flowers are White( sometimes pink) and pale yellow(10). They are thin and tubular, usually flaring into 5 lobes in. 2 lips, with the upper lips having 4 lobes(10).