The perennial vine ''Lonicera hispidula'' is a species of

honeysuckle Honeysuckles are arching shrubs or Vine#Twining vines, twining vines in the genus ''Lonicera'' () of the family Caprifoliaceae. The genus includes 158 species native to northern latitudes in North America, Eurasia, and North Africa. Widely kno ...

known as pink honeysuckle and, less often, California honeysuckle. It is a low-elevation woodlands

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

vine A vine 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 themselves, for instance, when used in wicker work.Jackson; Benjamin; Da ...

domestically grown, specifically found on the West Coast of North America.

Description

Like other honeysuckles, ''Lonicera hispidula'' has pairs of leaves that grow opposite each other on the stem, with the uppermost pair fused at the bases to surround the stem. When the branches cling to another plant or surface, the branches elongate outwards while the center of the plants shifts into a bushier, more structured shrub. At the end of the stem grow pink blossoms. It is a perennial shrub or vine. ''Lonicera hispidula'' has an opposite leaf arrangement with a simple leaf complexity. The flower has an entire leaf margin, meaning it has a smooth edge with no serrations. The honeysuckle flowers are tubular and slightly curved, but is described to have an ovate shape when discussing the whole flower including the petals. The flower species has a unisexual breeding system, where the male and female reproductive organs are split between two flowers. The plant has dioecious flowers, illustrating that there are male or female individual plants present which is less common. The inflorescence is expressed as a spike, meaning that the flowers are arranged on a long and thin axis with the flowers vertically lined up without the presence of branches. The flowers continue to bloom from the base to the tip when the spike is stretched out.

Taxonomy

Currently no

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

are recognized. Previously recognized subspecies include ''Lonicera hispidula'' var. ''californica'' (Torr. & A. Gray) Rehder, ''Lonicera hispidula'' var. ''hispidula'', and ''Lonicera hispidula'' var. ''vacillans'' A. Gray.

Ecology

''Lonicera hispidula'' grows in

riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. In some regions, the terms riparian woodland, riparian forest, riparian buffer zone, riparian corridor, and riparian strip are used to characterize a ripar ...

and

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...

areas. It commonly grows in coastal riparian sections and mountains in California, but have been seen in the west near the Cascades in Washington and Oregon. The plant is commonly discovered near canyons, streams, and woodlands with an elevation ranging from 1,500 to 3,500 feet. The honeysuckle produces berries, connoting that the fruit has a flesh outer appearance with seeds contained inside. Generally, the berry has a red color when it's at peak maturity and is small with a size of 8 mm. The flowers attract

hummingbird Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the Family (biology), biological family Trochilidae. With approximately 366 species and 113 genus, genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but most species are found in Cen ...

s, while other birds eat the fruits. ''Lonicera hispidula'' normally blooms during spring specifically in the months of May and June, depending on the environmental surroundings. Although the flowers are usually pink, they also exhibit other adaptations consisting of white, dark red rose or purple & a light yellow. The plant commonly attracts various organisms including butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds. The plant can be grown in protective sun and shade, but thrives the most in acidic, dry to moist soils.

Toxicity

According to the

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at University of Texas at Austin, The University of Texas at Austin is the state botanical garden and arboretum of Texas. The center features more than 900 species of native Texas plants in both garden ...

, "Berries may be mildly poisonous if eaten. Sensitivity to a toxin varies with a person's age, weight, physical condition, and individual susceptibility. Children are most vulnerable because of their curiosity and small size."

Uses

The stems are hollow and sturdy and were used by the

Pomo people The Pomo are a Indigenous peoples of California, Native American people of California. Historical Pomo territory in Northern California was large, bordered by the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast to the west, extending inland to ...

as smoking pipes. The burned woods ashes were also used for tattooing. It is cultivated by specialty

native plant In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often popularised as "with no human intervention") during history. The term is equi ...

plant nurseries A nursery is a place where plants are propagated and grown to a desired size. Mostly the plants concerned are for gardening, forestry, or conservation biology, rather than agriculture. They include retail nurseries, which sell to the general ...

as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...

for

drought-tolerant In botany, drought tolerance is the ability by which a plant maintains its biomass production during arid or drought conditions. Some plants are naturally adapted to dry conditions'','' surviving with protection mechanisms such as desiccation tole ...

wildlife garden A wildlife garden (or habitat garden or backyard restoration) is an Biophysical environment, environment created with the purpose to serve as a sustainable haven for surrounding wildlife. Wildlife gardens contain a variety of habitats that cater t ...

s and

natural landscaping Natural landscaping, also called native gardening, is the use of native plants including trees, shrubs, groundcover, and grasses which are local to the geographic area of the garden. Benefits Maintenance Natural landscaping is adapted to t ...

in California. The plant is seemingly pest and disease free and is labeled as a low maintenance plant that can thrive with minimal care which is optimal for a wildlife garden. As mentioned earlier, the flower's fruits contain saponins, which can be mildly toxic to humans if ingested; however, other parts of the plant do not display levels of toxicity. The pink honeysuckle has shown scenarios proving that the plant is a host for the "sudden oak death" pathogen, causing a deadly canker disease for various oak trees originated in California and Oregon.

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment - ''Lonicera hispidula''UW Herbarium ProfileEthnobotany
hispidula Flora of California Flora of Oregon Flora of Washington (state) Flora of the Klamath Mountains Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Natural history of the Channel Islands of California Natural history of the Peninsular Ranges Natural history of the San Francisco Bay Area Natural history of the Santa Monica Mountains Natural history of the Transverse Ranges Bird food plants Garden plants of North America Vines Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Dipsacales-stub