Tatarian honeysuckle
Family
CaprifoliaceaeScientific Name
Lonicera tatarica
Other Common Names:
bush honeysuckle
Synonyms (former Scientific Names):
Lonicera sibirica
Lonicera tatarica var. latifolia
Habit
Tatarian Honeysuckle is a dense shrub that typically grows 10-12 foot tall, 12 foot wide, and leafs out early in the spring.
Leaves
The multi-stemmed branches are upright, then overarching toward the tips, dense, and twiggy with hollow stems. Bark is a light gray color that often peels off in vertical, stringy strips. Leaves are opposite, simple, entire, oval, 1.5-2.5 inches long, 1-1.5 wide, and blue-green in color.
Identifying Characteristics
Identified by its blue-green foliage, red or orange berries in the summer, white pith, and superposed buds. Another distinguishing characteristic is its round hollow stems.
Flower Seed Head
Flowers are small, fragrant, tubular, white, pink or red blossoms generally less than 1 inch long with very thin petals. They are born in pairs, are numerous, and bloom in May.
Seed Fruit
Fruits are a quarter inch, red, yellow, or orange berries that bloom in July and August and are sometimes produced in large quantities.
Where Found
Open woodlands, old fields and other disturbed sites.
Growth Habit
woody bush or tree
Thorns or Spines
not present
Approximate Flower Diameter
pencil
Dominant Flower Color
Varies:
white,
red,
pink
Flower Symmetry
not symmetrical
Leaf Hairs
no hairs
Leaf Shape
oval
Leaf Arrangement
opposite
Leaf Margin
entire
Leaf Structure
simple
Leaf Stalk
shorter than leaf
Stem Hairs
no hairs
Stem Cross Section
round or oval
Milky Sap
not present
Root Structure
fibrous
Life Cycle
perennial
Ochrea
not present
Plant Type
Shrub