Shrub to 3 m tall

Leaves: opposite, short-stalked, dark green above, paler beneath, 6 - 10 cm long, more than twice as long as wide, oblong- reverse egg-shaped to lance-shaped with a tapering base and pointed tip, hairless or nearly so above, hairy beneath. Leaf stalk hairy.

Flowers: borne in clusters (spikes) at branch tips. Bracts usually exceeding calyx, awl-shaped, and hairy. Calyx short, five-lobed. Corolla white, turning yellowish, 1.5 - 1.8 cm long, tubular, five-lobed, hairless outside. Corolla tube to 3 mm long, hairless. Stamens five.

Fruit: a few-seeded berry, in clusters, reddish orange.

Twigs: hollow.

Form: upright and spreading.

Similar species: Lonicera x muendeniensis is similar but its corolla tube is larger (to 4 mm long or longer).

Flowering: May

Habitat and ecology: Introduced from Asia. A rare escape from cultivation. The few Chicago Region records are from specimens found in waste ground along railroads and roadsides.

Occurence in the Chicago region: non-native

Etymology: Lonicera is named after Adam Lonicer (1528-1586), a German botanist and author.

Author: The Morton Arboretum