Contents
Lonicera species
How many honeysuckles are there?
The genus Lonicera comprises about 180 species of plants of the caprifoliaceae family that live in temperate zones. They can be shrubs or lianas.
They are climbers with perennial or deciduous leaves. All of them have opposite leaves and flowers with the bilabial corolla, and the corolla tube generally quite long.
Most flowers usually offer intense aromas and very sweet nectar to attract pollinators and favor pollination (moths, bees or birds).
In English they are called honeysuckles, a word referring to the nectar that the majority of the flowers of this gender produce.
Honeysuckle species
Among the most known species we have:
Lonicera etrusca
- Etruscan Honeysuckle (Lonicera etrusca) Like Lonicera caprifolium, it presents the upper leaves joined forming a kind of cup from where the flowers come out, however it differs from the common honeysuckle in that the flowers of the Etruscan honeysuckle are not seated but they are placed at the end of a peduncle.
The reddish fruits of this plant are also poisonous. It inhabits Mediterranean areas and may be deciduous or semimature.
Lonicera implexa
- Evergreen Honeysuckle: (Lonicera implexa) Mediterranean shrub up to 3 m. Yellowish red flowers that are born from the top leaves joined in a cup shape on peduncles. Orange fruits.
Lonicera periclymenum
- European honeysuckle: (Lonicera periclymenum) Native plant of Europe that reaches 6 m in height and grows in the forests. It presents creamy yellow flowers, white or pink and cream in the form of small trumpet and with a very good aroma. They are in bloom during the months of May and August.. Fruits are red
Lonicera japonica
- Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) From East Asia, it reaches 9 meters in height. It has been used as a garden plant in many parts of the world for its ease of growth and its ability to cover hedges or fences.
Its adaptive capacity makes it an invasive species in many places where it has been imported, to the point that it manages to kill many of the trees or shrubs on which it hangs, since its roots produce substances that stop the growth of the others plants.
It has thick leaves of a dark green and yellow flowers that appear in late summer or early fall. Its fruits are black.
Main species and varieties of Lonicera
| Lonicera acuminata Wall. Lonicera affinis Lonicera alberti Regel Lonicera albiflora Torr. & Gray Lonicera alpeiensis Hsu et H.J.Wang Lonicera alpigena Lonicera altmannii Regel et Schmalh. Lonicera x americana Lonicera angustilfolia Wall. ex DC. Lonicera anisocalyx Rehd. Lonicera arborea Lonicera arizonica Rehd. Lonicera biflora Lonicera bourtnei Hemsl. Lonicera brevisepala Hsu et H. J. Wang Lonicera buchananii Lace Lonicera buddleioides Hsu et S. C. Cheng Lonicera caerulea L. Lonicera calcarata Hemsl. Lonicera calvescens (Chun et How) Hsu et H. J. Lonicera canadensis Bartr. ex Marsh. Lonicera caprifolium L. Lonicera carnosifolia C. Y. Wu ex Hsu et H. J. Wang Lonicera carnosifolis Lonicera chrysantha Turcz. ex Ledeb. Lonicera ciliosa (Pursh) Poir. ex DC. Lonicera ciliosissima C. Y. Wu ex Hsu et H. J. Wang Lonicera cinerea Pojark. Lonicera codonantha Rehd. Lonicera confusa (Sweet) DC. Lonicera conjugialis Kellogg Lonicera crassifolia Batal. Lonicera cyanocarpa Franch. Lonicera dasystyla Rehd. Lonicera deflexicalix Lonicera dioica var. dioica L. Lonicera elisae Franch. Lonicera etrusca Lonicera fargesii Franch. Lonicera ferdinandii Franch. Lonicera ferruginea Rehd. Lonicera flava SimsLonicera fragilis Lévl. Lonicera fragrantissima Lindl. et Paxt. Lonicera fulvotomentösa Hsu et S.C. Cheng Lonicera glutinosa Lonicera gracilipes glabra Lonicera graebneri Rehd. Lonicera gynochlamydea Hemsl. Lonicera x heckrottii Lonicera hellenica Lonicera hemsleyana (O. Ktze.) Rehd. | Lonicera henryi Lonicera heterophylla Lonicera hirsuta Eat. Lonicera hispida Pall. ex Roem. et Schult. Lonicera hispidula (Lindl.) Dougl. ex Torr. & Gray Lonicera humilis Kar. et Kir. Lonicera hypoglauca Miq. Lonicera hypoleuca Decne. Lonicera implexa Lonicera inconspicua Batal. Lonicera inodora W. W. Smith Lonicera involucrata Banks ex Spreng. Lonicera japonica Thunb. Lonicera jilongensis Hsu et H.J. Wang Lonicera kansuensis (Batal. ex Rehd.) Lonicera kawakamii (Hayata) Masam. Lonicera korolkowii Stapf Lonicera lanceolata Wall. Lonicera ledebourii Lonicera ligustrina Wall. Lonicera litangensis Batal. Lonicera longilflora (Lindl.) DC. Lonicera longituba H. T. Chang ex Hsu et H. J. Wang Lonicera maackii (Rupr.) Maxim. Lonicera macranthoides Hand.-Mazz. Lonicera maximowiczii (Rupr.) Regel Lonicera microphylla Wllld. ex Roem. et Schult. Lonicera minuta Batal. Lonicera minutifolia Kitam. Lonicera modesta Rehd. Lonicera morrowii Gray Lonicera mucronata Rehd. Lonicera myrtilllus Hook. f. et Thoms. Lonicera nervosa Maxim. Lonicera nigra Lonicera Lonicera nitida Lonicera nubium (Hand.-Mazz.) Hand.-Mazz. Lonicera nummulariifolia Lonicera oblata Hao ex Hsu et H.J. Wang Lonicera oblongifolia Lonicera oiwakensis Hayata Lonicera oreodoxa H. Smith ex Rehd. Lonicera orientalis Lonicera pampaninii Lévl. Lonicera periclymenum L. Lonicera pileata Oliv. Lonicera pilosa Lonicera praeflorens Batal. Lonicera prostrata Rehd. Lonicera x purpusii Lonicera pyrenaica Lonicera quinquelocularis Lonicera reticulata Raf. | Lonicera retusa Franch. Lonicera rhytidophylla Hand.-Mazz. Lonicera rupicola Hook. f. et Thoms. Lonicera ruprechtiana Regel Lonicera saccata Rehd. Lonicera schneideriana Rehd. Lonicera semenovii Regel Lonicera sempervirens L. Lonicera serreana Hand.-Mazz. Lonicera setifera Franch. Lonicera similis Hemsl. Lonicera spinosa Jacq. ex Walp. Lonicera splendida Lonicera standishii Jacques Lonicera stephanocarpa Franch. Lonicera subaequalis Rehd. Lonicera subhispida Nakai Lonicera sublabiata Hsu et H. J. Wang Lonicera subspicata Hook. & Arn. Lonicera szechuanica Batal. Lonicera taipeiensis Lonicera tangutica Maxlm. Lonicera tatarica L. Lonicera tatarinowii Maxim. Lonicera x tellmanniana Lonicera tomentella Hook.f. et Thoms. Lonicera tragophylla Hemsl. Lonicera tricalysioides Lonicera trichogyne Lonicera trichogyne Rehd. Lonicera trichosantha Bur. et Franch. Lonicera trichosepala (Rehd.) Hsu Lonicera tubliflora Rehd. Lonicera utahensis S. Wats. Lonicera venulosa Lonicera villosa (Michx.) J.A. Schultes Lonicera virgultorum W. W. Smith Lonicera webbiana Wall. ex DC. Lonicera x bella Lonicera x heckrottii Rehd. Lonicera x minutiflora Zabel Lonicera x notha Zabel Lonicera x xylosteoides Tausch Lonicera xylosteum L. Lonicera yunnanensis Franch. |
More information on honeysuckle.
