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August 6, 2011
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Southeastern, New Hampshire
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I may not ever be able to easily differentiate the honeysuckles. I will call
this Tatarian Honeysuckle even though I’m not 100% certain. The pictures
fit most of the description of Tatarian Honeysuckle such as glaborous (hairless)
underside of leaves and branchlets. The peduncles (flower/fruit stalks) are
15-25mm long. Dense and twiggy shrub. Pith is white. The only problem is that the
field guides say the leaves are up to 6.5cm long, but some of these leaves are
7.5cm long. Still it does not seem to even come close to fitting the description
of any other Honeysuckles in the area. The following are the Honeysuckles that grow
in New Hampshire and the reason (if any) that this plant is different:
- Lonicera canadensis (American Fly Honeysuckle): Leaf margin has obvious hairs, fruit
has more of a cone/triangular shape with each pair facing away from each other.
- Lonicera villosa (Mountain Fly Honeysuckle): Leaves sessile (no petiole/leaf stem).
- Lonicera dioica (Limber Honeysuckle: Leaves sessile (sometimes perfoliate), fruit often
together in a cluster of six berries. Note: Perfoliate means that the leaves that are
have no stalks, clasp the stem making it appear that the stem pierces the leaves.
- Lonicera japonica (Japanese Honeysuckle): Grows as a woody vine. Black fruit. Broad,
evergreen leaves with hairs beneath.
- Lonicera korolkowii (Blueleaf Honeysuckle): Underside of leaves is blue-green
in Spring (turns grayish at maturity) and pubescent (hairy).
- Lonicera sempervirens (Trumpet Honeysuckle): Semi-evergreen woody vine. Sessile
leaves (or nearly so), last pair of leaves before flower/fruit is perfoliate, fruit red
or orange on the outside and yellow on the inside.
- Lonicera xylosteum (Dwarf Honeysuckle): Gray-green leaves, often obovate, but can
be ovate and oval. Upper leave is glaborous, lower leaf is hairy. Fruit is scarlet.
- Diervilla lonicera (Northern Bush-Honeysuckle): Finely-tooth leaves with
acuminate tips. Fruit is a capsule.
- Lonicera morrowii (Morrow’s Honeysuckle): Leaves very pubescent
(hairy) on the underside. Flower/fruit stalk (peduncle) is 5-15mm long. Leaf shape: oval.
Branchlets pubescent.
- Lonicera x bella (Bell’s Honeysuckle): Sparesely pubescent
branchlets and leaf blades (underside). Flower/fruit stalk (peduncle) is 5-15mm long.
- Lonicera tatarica (Tatarian Honeysuckle): Leaf blades and
branchlets glaborous (hairless). Flower/fruit stalk (peduncle) is 15-25mm long.
I even expanded the search to all Honeysuckles listed in the Maine, New Hampshire,
Vermont, Rhode Island and Massachusetts area:
- Lonicera reticulata (Grape Honeysuckle): Leaves are sessile and uppermost
opposite leaves are perfoliate and rounded at the tip.
- Lonicera oblongifolia (Swamp Fly Honeysuckle): Leaves oblong -- long and
tapers at base and tip. Erect shrub growing up to 4-1/2 feet high. Leave hairy/downy
beneath.
- Lonicera maackii (Amur Honeysuckle): Leave are ovate and acuminate
(long tapering tip). Green above, paler and slighty hairy/fuzzy below.
- Lonicera hirsuta (Hairy Honeysuckle): Perennial trailing or climbing
deciduous vine. Upper leaf dark green and slightly hairy, lower surface is pale green
and hairy. Margins hairy. Cluster of two berries subtended by a pair of olive-colored,
saucer-shaped bracts.
- Lonicera periclymenum (European Honeysuckle): Deciduous, twining vine.
More than two berries grow together in large clumps.
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