Lonicera reticulata
grape honeysuckle [Blooms: Jun]
Grape honeysuckle (Lonicera reticulata) flowers. Bottom: lateral view of a cluster of grape honeysuckle flowers. The most basal whorl of flowers have all been fertilized and are represented only by their green, urn-shaped ovaries (arrow). Two other whorls of flowers are open or about to open. Top right: lateral view of another cluster of grape honeysuckle flowers; here only a single whorl of flowers is present. The green ovaries at the base of the flowers (arrow) is easily discerned. Top left: frontal view of a cluster of grape honeysuckle flowers against a background of two fused leaves forming a solid disc.
In grape honeysuckle, a short flowering stalk emerges from the tip of the stem where it emerges from the terminal pair of leaves; 2-5 whorls of flowers develop along this flowering stalk. Each flower is about 1″ long. It consists of an egg-shaped, swollen, dark green ovary; a pale yellow to orange-yellow, two-lipped corolla that fades with age to orange or red; five stamens with yellow anthers; and a single style with a dome-shaped stigma. There are no hairs on the flowers. Both the stamens and the style protrude from the corolla. The ovary of fertilized flowers produces berries which are initially green but, at maturity, become globoid, orange-red to red, and about 1/4-1/2″ long. Grape honeysuckle is the only honeysuckle (native or exotic) in Jackson Park that is a woody vine; it is distinctive and should be easy to recognize.
Grape honeysuckle (Lonicera reticulata) stems and leaves. Top: a portion of the stem (arrow) of a grape honeysuckle. Note the series of paired, opposite leaves along the stem and the single pair of fused leaves behind the terminal cluster of flowers. Bottom: face-on view of a cluster of grape honeysuckle flowers and the fused pair of leaves immediately behind the flowers. Note that the stem appears to pierce the leaves (the “perfoliate” condition).
Grape honeysuckle is a native perennial vine (or shrub) that can be 15 feet long, producing only a few branches along its length. Its stems twine among surrounding vegetation (which it uses for support), thus suggesting a vine, but if it can’t find any objects to twine around, grape honeysuckle forms a tangled mound that resembles a bush or shrub. There is a narrow trunk at the base of the vine that is covered with an outer, gray bark which tends to shred in strips, revealing a reddish-brown inner bark. Young (first year) stems are pale green to reddish green and hairless, but become yellowish tan, brown, or orange-red with age (and may begin to exhibit longitudinal grooves). Pairs of opposite leaves occur along the stems. Most of these leaves are up to 4″ long and 3″ across, oval or egg-shaped, with smooth margins; these leaves either have short petioles, are sessile, or are narrowly perfoliate (appearing as if the stem penetrates the leaves). The terminal 1-2 pairs of leaves (where the flowers appear) are similar to the other leaves except their bases are partially to completely fused around the stem; the stem convincingly seems to penetrate the fused leaves. These two pairs of leaves develop a strong, whitish, waxy coating; the upper surface of the leaf is a whitish green to a whitish blue gray.
A grape honeysuckle (Lonicera reticulata) vine growing at the eastern edge of the Old Rose Garden in the center of Wooded Island. (The Old Rose Garden was a site within the Colombian Exposition of 1893; the roses have long since disappeared.) A cluster of grape honeysuckle flowers is shown in the lower right corner of the image; the disc-like pair of fused leaves behind the flowers is also apparent.
Grape honeysuckle is a native perennial vine (or shrub) that can be 15 feet long, producing only a few branches along its length. Its stems twine among surrounding vegetation (which it uses for support), thus suggesting a vine, but if it can’t find any objects to twine around, grape honeysuckle forms a tangled mound that resembles a bush or shrub. There is a narrow trunk at the base of the vine that is covered with an outer, gray bark which tends to shred in strips, revealing a reddish-brown inner bark. Young (first year) stems are pale green to reddish green and hairless, but become yellowish tan, brown, or orange-red with age (and may begin to exhibit longitudinal grooves). Pairs of opposite leaves occur along the stems. Most of these leaves are up to 4″ long and 3″ across, oval or egg-shaped, with smooth margins; these leaves either have short petioles, are sessile, or are narrowly perfoliate (appearing as if the stem penetrates the leaves). The terminal 1-2 pairs of leaves (where the flowers appear) are similar to the other leaves except their bases are partially to completely fused around the stem; the stem convincingly seems to penetrate the fused leaves. These two pairs of leaves develop a strong, whitish, waxy coating; the upper surface of the leaf is a whitish green to a whitish blue gray. A short flowering stalk emerges from the tip of the stem where it emerges from the terminal pair of leaves; 2-5 whorls of flowers develop along this flowering stalk. Each flower is about 1″ long. It consists of an egg-shaped, swollen, dark green ovary; a pale yellow to orange-yellow, two-lipped corolla that fades with age to orange or red; five stamens with yellow anthers; and a single style with a dome-shaped stigma. There are no hairs on the flowers. Both the stamens and the style protrude from the corolla. The ovary of fertilized flowers produces berries which are initially green but, at maturity, become globoid, orange-red to red, and about 1/4-1/2″ long. Grape honeysuckle is the only honeysuckle (native or exotic) in Jackson Park that is a woody vine; it is distinctive and should be easy to recognize.
Browse more plants
Want to keep exploring more plants? You can view other plants like this one by selecting a characteristic from the list below, or 'browse more plants' to go back to the Plant Finder.
Related Plants
![Evening primrose — clusters of yellow flowers occur at the apex of the plant. The flowers are 1-2" across, with four 1/2-1" long green sepals strongly reflected over a long (3/4-2"), green, cylindrical floral tube (the ovary is located just above the leaf axil), four heart-shaped yellow petals, eight stamens, and a single style with an X-shaped stigma. The sepals typically remain connected (in pairs) along one edge until the flower opens. The seedpods develop within the ovary (the base of the elongate floral tube); they are hairy, urn-shaped with rounded edges, and have four or eight small lobes on the apex. The seeds are claimed to remain viable in the soil for up to 70 years. The flowers open at dusk and close early in the day. — — — There are (at least) three evening primroses in Jackson Park — common evening primrose (Oenothera biennis), northern evening primrose (Oenothera parviflora), and hairy evening primrose (Oenothera villosa). They are easily confused with each other. (Judging by the conflicts between the accounts on Illinois Wildflowers [https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/], Minnesota Wildflowers [https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/], and Missouri Plants [http://www.missouriplants.com/], even the experts are confused.) All three species have yellow flowers with an X-shaped stigma, reflected sepals, petals with a small notch in their apex, stems that may be red or green, and lance-shaped leaves with short, widely-spaced teeth. Northern evening primrose is distinguished by (1) the presence of a knob or ridge at the tip of each sepal which the other two species lack (2) a seed capsule with four robust, flaring lobes with rounded tips at the apex of the seed capsule, and (3) a stigma that is very robust and almost fills the opening of the flower. Northern evening primrose has green to yellowish-green sepals. Hairy evening primrose (often but not always) has (1) striped or reddish-tinged sepals (check the buds where this character is often easier to see), (2) flowers that turn orange as they begin to senesce (although the reliability of this character is uncertain), and (3) always has glandular hairs covering the ovary that have "pimple-like" bright-red bases; these red pimples may also occur on the stems. All three species are somewhat similar to prairie sundrop (O. pilosella); the latter has very hairy stems and leaves, and translucent lines that radiate from the base of the petals in the flowers.](https://jacksonparkwildflowers.info/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Oenothera_biennis-1t-300x300.jpg)
![Northern evening primrose flowers are 3/4-1.5" across, have four yellow, heart-shaped petals, eight yellow stamens, and a cross-shaped stigma on a modest style; the stamens are as long or longer than the petals and the stigma is nearly fills the floral opening. At the base of the flower are four sepals 1/2-1" long, that bend back along the 3/4-1.5" long floral tube as the flower develops with pairs of sepals attached along one edge until the flower opens. Only northern evening primrose with a distinct ridge or knob near the tips of the sepals. The seed capsule develops from the ovary; it is 3/4-1.5" long, cylindrical but tapering slightly towards the tip, with four robust, flaring lobes at the tip. — — — There are (at least) three evening primroses in Jackson Park — common evening primrose (Oenothera biennis), northern evening primrose (Oenothera parviflora), and hairy evening primrose (Oenothera villosa). They are easily confused with each other. (Judging by the conflicts between the accounts on Illinois Wildflowers [https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/], Minnesota Wildflowers [https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/], and Missouri Plants [http://www.missouriplants.com/], even the experts are confused.) All three species have yellow flowers with an X-shaped stigma, reflected sepals, petals with a small notch in their apex, stems that may be red or green, and lance-shaped leaves with short, widely-spaced teeth. Northern evening primrose is distinguished by (1) the presence of a knob or ridge at the tip of each sepal which the other two species lack (2) a seed capsule with four robust, flaring lobes with rounded tips at the apex of the seed capsule, and (3) a stigma that is very robust and almost fills the opening of the flower. Northern evening primrose has green to yellowish-green sepals and is the only one of the three evening primroses to (sometimes) have reddish color on some or all of the midvein of the leaves. Hairy evening primrose (often but not always) has (1) striped or reddish-tinged sepals (check the buds where this character is often easier to see), (2) flowers that turn orange as they begin to senesce (although the reliability of this character is uncertain), and (3) always has glandular hairs covering the ovary that have "pimple-like" bright-red bases; these red pimples may also occur on the stems. All three species are somewhat similar to prairie sundrop (O. pilosella); the latter has very hairy stems and leaves, and translucent lines that radiate from the base of the petals in the flowers.](https://jacksonparkwildflowers.info/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Oenothera_parviflora-1t-300x300.jpg)
![Hairy evening primrose produves an elongating spike of flowers arises from the apex of the stem; flowers bloom near the tip while older flowers and seed capsules develop below. Individual flowers are 3/4-1.5" across; they sit on a long floral tube with the ovary at its base (attached to a leaf axil). The flowers have four yellow, heart-shaped petals, eight yellow stamens, and a cross-shaped stigma on a modest style; at the base of the flower are four sepals 3/8-3/4" long, reflected back along the floral tube as the flower develops with pairs of sepals attached along one edge until the flower opens. The sepals are often red-striped or red-tinged. Note the long, hairy floral tube below the sepals, the reddish stem, and glandular hairs with red bases on the ovary. The seed capsule develops from the ovary; it is up to 1.75" long, cylindrical but tapering slightly towards the tip, with four tiny lobes at the tip. — — — There are (at least) three evening primroses in Jackson Park — common evening primrose (Oenothera biennis), northern evening primrose (Oenothera parviflora), and hairy evening primrose (Oenothera villosa). They are easily confused with each other. (Judging by the conflicts between the accounts on Illinois Wildflowers [https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/], Minnesota Wildflowers [https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/], and Missouri Plants [http://www.missouriplants.com/], even the experts are confused.) All three species have yellow flowers with an X-shaped stigma, reflected sepals, petals with a small notch in their apex, stems that may be red or green, and lance-shaped leaves with short, widely-spaced teeth. Northern evening primrose is distinguished by (1) the presence of a knob or ridge at the tip of each sepal which the other two species lack (2) a seed capsule with four robust, flaring lobes with rounded tips at the apex of the seed capsule, and (3) a stigma that is very robust and almost fills the opening of the flower. Northern evening primrose has green to yellowish-green sepals. Hairy evening primrose (often but not always) has (1) striped or reddish-tinged sepals (check the buds where this character is often easier to see), (2) flowers that turn orange as they begin to senesce (although the reliability of this character is uncertain), and (3) always has glandular hairs covering the ovary that have "pimple-like" bright-red bases; these red pimples may also occur on the stems. All three species are somewhat similar to prairie sundrop (O. pilosella); the latter has very hairy stems and leaves, and translucent lines that radiate from the base of the petals in the flowers.](https://jacksonparkwildflowers.info/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Oenothera_villosa-1t-300x300.jpg)
