Lonicera flava Sims

  • Family: Caprifoliaceae (honeysuckle)
  • Common name: yellow honeysuckle
  • Synonyms: L. flava var. flavescens, L. flavida

    Trailing and twining woody vine with branches to several m long. Stems smooth, tan, becoming gray with shredding bark, sometimes with adventitious roots at the nodes of branches touching moist soil. Leaves opposite, pale- to dark green above, somewhat gray-green below, glabrous, elliptic to obovate, 5-12 cm (2-4.7 in) long and 2-6 cm (0.8-2.4 in) wide, sessile. The uppermost pair perfoliate, forming an oblong structure subtending the inflorescence. Inflorescence a terminal pair of 3-flowered sessile cymules. Flowers yellowish to pale orange, bilaterally symmetric, 2-2.5 cm (0.8-1 in) long, blooming in late Spring. Fruits reddish-orange, 5-10 mm (0.1-0.2 in) in diameter, ripening in late Summer or early Fall.

    Distribution: Southwest Missouri, southeast Kansas, eastern Oklahoma, east to North Carolina.
    Habitat: Usually on or near limestone outcrops.
    NWI status: none
    Comment: Lonicera honors the German herbalist Adam Lonitzer; flava refers to the yellow flowers.

    Distribution in Oklahoma:

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    Last update: 9/14/99
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