Filtered (2)
Amur honeysuckle flowers occur in near-sessile pairs arising from leaf axils; there is a 2 mm long flower stalk (the thickness of a U.S. five cent coin). The corolla is about 1" long and tall, white or cream-colored, consisting of four fused, vertical upper lobes and a single lower lobe at 90° to the upper lobes; this geometry creates an opening through which protrudes five long stamens with yellow anthers and the solitary pistil with a green, knobby stigma. Outer surfaces of the flower are hairy. The fruit is a 1/4" diameter, shiny-red, spherical berry, usually in clusters of 2-4, that looks rather like a large current. The berries are mildly poisonous. The berries of amur honeysuckle are very similar in appearance and distribution to the berries of Morrow's honeysuckle (Lonicera morrowii), but the berries of the former are sessile while the berries of the latter are attached to 1/2" long pedicels. In addition, the leaves of amur honeysuckle have elongated tips while the leaf tips of Morrow's honeysuckle are relatively blunt; only amur honeysuckle has sessile flowers. Please don't plant this in your garden — too often, it escapes.

Lonicera

Lonicera maackii

amur honeysuckle [Blooms: Apr-Jun]

Morrow's honeysuckle is another invasive exotic, this one from northern Asia, a highly branched shrub 6-10' high that prefers disturbed woodlands and a strong competitor for space. Flowers arise in pairs from leaf axils on pedicels at least 1/2" long. Each flower consists of a tubular greyish-green calyx with five teeth covered with short hairs; a tubular corolla 3/4-1" long and across, initially white but becoming cream colored over time, with five long, narrow, widely-spreading lobes (four on the upper lip, one on the lower lip); five stamens with white filaments and yellow anthers; and a single, slender white style with a dome-shaped, green stigma. The fruit is a red berry 1/4" across. The berries of Morrow's honeysuckle are very similar in appearance and distribution to the berries of amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii), but the former are attached to 1/2" long or longer pedicels while the latter are sessile; in addition, the leaves of amur honeysuckle have elongated "drip tips" while the leaf tips of Morrow's honeysuckle are relatively blunt.

Lonicera

Lonicera morrowii

Morrow's honeysuckle [Blooms: Apr-May]