Download Fall Fruits: Honeysuckle Invasive species often cause problems by

Fall Fruits: Honeysuckle
Invasive species often cause problems by outcompeting native species and altering the function of
ecosystems, but they can have certain redeeming values. Take honeysuckle for example. If you see a
honeysuckle bush in the woods or alongside a road, it is almost certainly one of the three invasive
species. All three are quite invasive and in some areas the can take over the understory of a forest and
prevent the normal regeneration of forest trees.
On the plus side, honeysuckles do provide lovely spring flowers that produce large amounts of nectar. In
fact the abundant nectar is the basis for their common name. In addition they produce large numbers of
small but colorful fruit. The fruits are not especially nutritious, so an animal that chooses to eat the
fruits has to eat many of them to get enough nutrition. As a result the seeds are widely dispersed. One
attribute of some invasive plant species is that they produce large numbers of seeds that can be widely
dispersed. Honeysuckle berries are mildly toxic to humans. Apparently, the birds know better than to
eat the berries because they persist on the plants for a long time. Even so the species is invasive.
This alien trio, all members of the genus Lonicera, includes Amur (L. mackii), Tartarian (L. tatarica), and
Morrow (L. morrow) honeysuckles. While it is relatively easy to identify a bush honeysuckle plant it can
be difficult to separate these three species from one another. On top of that there is a hybrid between
Tartarian and Morrow’s called Bell’s honeysuckle (L. x bella).
Amur honeysuckle has distinctive leaves that taper to a long sharp point. Morrow’s has leaves that
taper quickly to a point and Tartarian leaves have blunt tips. As you would expect, Bell’s honeysuckle
has leaves that are intermediate between Tartarian and Morrows. The flowers have different colors.
Amur and Morrows have white petals, Bell’s petals are pink, and Tartarian’s are usually pink to red. The
flowers of all species change with age with the white flowers turning yellow and the redder flowers
fading toward pink.
Honeysuckle species differ in how their fruits are attached to the twigs. Amur fruits are born on very
short stalks, appearing to be attached directly to the stem. The other species have fruits attached to
longer stalks.
Bush honeysuckles are multi-stemmed shrubs. All species grow to about ten to twenty feet in height.
Their bar gets shaggy when the stems reach about an inch in diameter. They grow quickly but are fairly
shallow rooted and thus are easier to pull out of the ground than many other woody shrubs. All nonnative honeysuckles have hollow twigs and opposite branches and opposite leaf arrangement.
Honeysuckles are one the first shrubs to leaf out in the spring and one of the last to lose their leaves in
the fall. You still have time before the honeysuckle fruits and leaves fall to go for a walk in the forest or
along a country road and see if you can spot some honeysuckle in fruit. With a little patience you may
be able to identify the species. In any case find time to enjoy the outdoors during the cool autumn
weather.
PHOTO: Amur honeysuckle showing leaves and fruit in early October. The plants are growing along the
Mahoning Valley trail just north of Alliance. (Photo by C. McClaugherty)