''Lonicera sempervirens'' (commonly known as coral honeysuckle, trumpet honeysuckle, or scarlet honeysuckle) is a species of

honeysuckle Honeysuckles are arching shrubs or twining vines in the genus ''Lonicera'' () of the family Caprifoliaceae, native to northern latitudes in North America and Eurasia. Approximately 180 species of honeysuckle have been identified in both con ...

vine native to the eastern United States which is known for its reddish flowers.

Description

''Lonicera sempervirens'' is best recognized by trumpet-shaped and coral to reddish flowers. The leaves and stems are waxy, a common trait in the

Honeysuckle Honeysuckles are arching shrubs or twining vines in the genus ''Lonicera'' () of the family Caprifoliaceae, native to northern latitudes in North America and Eurasia. Approximately 180 species of honeysuckle have been identified in both con ...

genus. It is a twining

vine A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themsel ...

growing to 20 ft or more through shrubs and young trees. The leaves are produced in opposite pairs, oval, up to 5 cm long and 4 cm broad; the leaves immediately below the flowers are

perfoliate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...

, joined at the base in a complete ring round the shoot. When born, their flowers are whorled on the end. They are present with red berries on them that are less than 1 cm width and length. The berries are inedible and grow from summer to fall. Their leaves are somewhat evergreen. The species is also flammable, which leads to it not being recommended for being planted close to residences. The flowers are produced on new growth in clusters of several groups of three together, tubular, 5 cm long, with five small lobes opening at the tip to expose the stamens and stigma. The bark is green and fuzzy when younger but becomes a light brown as it ages. The older stems get more of a red-orange color. Several

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

s have been selected for variation in flower color, including 'Magnifica' (flowers red outside, yellow inside), 'Sulphurea' (yellow flowers), and 'Superba' (bright scarlet flowers).

Distribution

''Lonicera sempervirens'' is most common in eastern

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

, but has occurred as far west as

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. It is found prominently in the southeastern US. It is listed as endangered in

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...

, the only state in which it has any legal status. Although introduced in parts of New England, populations of ''L. sempervirens'' have been found that seem to be growing natively in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, and

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

. It is also considered extremely rare in

. ''Lonicera sempervirens'' is most common in coastal habitats.

Taxonomy

''Lonicera sempervirens'' was first described by Swedish botanist

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, ...

in his treatise

Species Plantarum ' (Latin for "The Species of Plants") is a book by Carl Linnaeus, originally published in 1753, which lists every species of plant known at the time, classified into genera. It is the first work to consistently apply binomial names and was the ...

in 1753. Varieties of ''L. sempervirens'' are ''Lonicera sempervirens'' L. var. ''hirsutula'' Rehder, ''Lonicera sempervirens'' L. var. ''minor'' Aiton, and ''Lonicera sempervirens'' L. var. ''sempervirens. Phenianthus sempervirens'' (L.) Raf is a

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are al ...

. Hybrids of the species include ''Lonicera × tellmanniana'' and '' Lonicera × heckrottii''.

Uses

''Lonicera sempervirens'' is often used as an alternative to the invasive ''

Lonicera japonica ''Lonicera japonica'', known as Japanese honeysuckle and golden-and-silver honeysuckle, is a species of honeysuckle native to eastern Asia. It is often grown as an ornamental plant, but has become an invasive species in a number of countries. Jap ...

'' across the east coast of

. It is popular to grow in gardens or recreational areas as it is considered low maintenance. It is also used to attract hummingbirds and butterflies for pollinator gardens. It is also popular to plant for a flowering effect because of its attractive red color. The species is mainly used ornamentally on fences or lattices. The species can be propagated by either stem cutting or by seed. It has been used to treat asthma and bee stings in Native American traditions.

Habitat

''Lonicera sempervirens'' can grow in many areas due to its cold hardiness. ''Lonicera sempervirens'' prefers sunny and moist areas but is also drought resistant. Coral honeysuckle can live in soils such as

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay pa ...

loam Loam (in geology and soil science) is soil composed mostly of sand ( particle size > ), silt (particle size > ), and a smaller amount of clay (particle size < ). By weight, its mineral composition is about 40–40–20% concentration of sand–si ...

, and only needs about 3 to 6 feet of space to grow. It prefers acidic soil with a pH of 6 and prefers soil with good drainage. It can grow in full sun or in fully shaded areas. It can tolerate living near

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...

and

walnut A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a true ...

s as it is not a preferred browse.

Wildlife Uses

''Lonicera sempervirens'' is used by many animals for food, most commonly used for nectar by butterflies and hummingbirds. It attracts bees, hummingbirds, moths, and even songbirds. Birds such as

quail Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally placed in the order Galliformes. The collective noun for a group of quail is a flock, covey, or bevy. Old World quail are placed in the family Phasianidae, and New ...

purple finch The purple finch (''Haemorhous purpureus'') is a bird in the finch family, Fringillidae. Taxonomy This species and the other "American rosefinches" were formerly included with the rosefinches of Eurasia in the genus '' Carpodacus''; however, t ...

, and

American robin The American robin (''Turdus migratorius'') is a migratory bird of the true thrush genus and Turdidae, the wider thrush family. It is named after the European robin because of its reddish-orange breast, though the two species are not closely ...

eat the red berries. Ruby-throated hummingbirds and insects pollinate the bright red to pinkish-red flowers from mid-spring to fall.Operation Rubythroat "Top Ten" Native Hummingbird Plants
''Lonicera sempervirens''
/ref> It hosts the caterpillars of spring azures and snowberry clearwing moths. ''Lonicera sempervirens'' is used moderately for animal cover and has a relatively low nutritional value.

Gallery

File:Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) RWD4.jpg, Ruby-throated hummingbird feeding File:Lonicera sempervirens.jpg, Flower buds File:Lonicera-sempervirens-foliage.jpg, Leaves and appearance after blooms detach File:Lonicera sempervirens close up bloom.JPG, Close-up of blooms File:Lonicera sempervirens NRCS-002.jpg, Pinkish-red flowers with yellow insides

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q161352 sempervirens Flora of the Eastern United States Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus