SPECIES: Lonicera spp.
Choose from the following categories of information.
Lonicera fragrantissima Lindl. & Paxt. [36,82,83,133,191] winter honeysuckle
Lonicera maackii Maxim. [18,27,36,54,59,82,83,131,137,186] Amur honeysuckle
Lonicera morrowii A. Gray [18,39,54,60,83,161,186,189,190,197] Morrow's honeysuckle
Lonicera tatarica L. [18,38,39,54,59,60,82,83,92,93,157,161,186,190,191] Tatarian honeysuckle
Lonicera xylosteum L. [18,54,60,83,186] European fly honeysuckle
Lonicera × bella Zabel [54,60,83,133,186,190] Bell's honeysuckle. This is a cross between L. tatarica and L. morrowii that has arisen in cultivation and probably spontaneously in the wild [7,54,68,133,186]. According to Barnes [7], Bell's honeysuckle is intermediate to its parent species in most characteristics, but "many of these characteristics vary between extremes so that often detection of the hybrid nature of an individual can only be accomplished by looking at a large number of characters." Field observations in Ohio and Michigan suggest that Tatarian honeysuckle is the pollen parent of Bell's honeysuckle [68]. Bush honeysuckle shrubs in southern Vermont were described as a "hybrid complex", with most individuals resembling the Morrow's honeysuckle type, but some apparently more influenced by Tatarian honeysuckle [139]. Barnes [7] illustrates the difficulty often encountered in distinguishing between Bell's honeysuckle and its parent species, and asserts that in many instances Bell's honeysuckle is misidentified in the literature as Tatarian honeysuckle or Morrow's honeysuckle. Chapman and Bessette [25] describe Bell's honeysuckle as the dominant "species" in Adirondack Park, New York, with pure specimens of either Tatarian honeysuckle or Morrow's honeysuckle becoming difficult to find.
When discussing characteristics typical (or likely to be typical) of all 6 of the above taxa, this report refers to them collectively as bush honeysuckle(s). When referring to individual taxa, the common names listed above are used.
Although apparently not widely escaped, additional hybrids may be formed among the abovementioned taxa and others, as described below [60,72]:
Lonicera × minutiflora Zabel (bunchberry honeysuckle), a cross between L. morrowii
and L.× xylosteoides.
Lonicera × muendeniensis Rehd. (Muenden honeysuckle), a cross between L.× bella
and L. ruprechtiana (Manchurian honeysuckle).
Lonicera × muscaviensis Rehd. (Muscovy honeysuckle), a cross between L. morrowii and L. ruprechtiana.
Lonicera × notha Zabel (Rutarian honeysuckle),
a cross between L. ruprechtiana and L. tatarica.
Lonicera × salicifolia Dieck ex Zabel (willowleaf honeysuckle), a cross between
L. ruprechtiana and L.× xylosteoides.
Lonicera × xylosteoides Tausch (Vienna honeysuckle),
a cross between L. tatarica and L. xylosteum.
LIFE FORM:
Shrub
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS:
No special status
OTHER STATUS:
Winter honeysuckle, Amur honeysuckle, Morrow's honeysuckle, Tatarian
honeysuckle, and Bell's honeysuckle are ranked as severe threats by the Tennessee
Exotic Pest Plant Council [156], and Amur honeysuckle, Morrow's honeysuckle, and
Tatarian honeysuckle are ranked as severe threats by the Kentucky Exotic Pest Plant
Council [85]. Morrow's honeysuckle is ranked highly invasive, Amur honeysuckle and
Tatarian honeysuckle moderately invasive, and winter honeysuckle and Bell's
honeysuckle occasionally invasive by the Virginia Department of Conservation and
Recreation [182].
U.S. Forest Service Region 8 (Southern Region) lists winter honeysuckle, Amur honeysuckle, Morrow's honeysuckle, and Tatarian honeysuckle as category 1 weeds (exotic plant species that are known to be invasive and persistent throughout all or most of their range within the Southern Region and that can spread into and persist in native plant communities and displace native plant species and therefore pose a demonstrable threat to the integrity of the natural plant communities in the Region). The introduction of category 1 species is prohibited on National Forest System Lands [171].
Morrow's honeysuckle, Tatarian honeysuckle, and Bell's honeysuckle are "high-priority"
nonnative invasive plants of the Ottawa National Forest (MI) [170].