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Lonicera (Named after Adam Lonicer)

(named after Adam Lonicer, or Lonitzer, 1528-1586, a German botanist). Honeysuckle. Including Caprifolium and Xylosteum. ORD. Caprifoliaceae. An extensive genus (about eighty species have been enumerated) of hardy or half-hardy, erect or twining, deciduous or evergreen shrubs, natives of the temperate and sub-tropical regions of the Northern hemisphere, rarely seen in the tropics. Flowers often fragrant, axillary or capitate, variously disposed; corolla tubular, campanulate or funnel-shaped, with usually an irregular limb. Leaves simple, opposite, stipulate. Loniceras are amongst the most beautifully scented and popular of flowering shrubs. The tall-growing sorts are best suited for covering walls, arbours, and trellises of any description. L. fragrantissima and L. Standishii produce their flowers in the greatest profusion early in spring, on the wood made and ripened the previous years. Pruning must not, therefore, be practised with these until flowering is past, when all the shoots should be shortened back nearly close. Almost all the other species flower on young wood. L. sempervirens, and its variety, minor, are beautiful plants for training up greenhouse rafters. The majority of the Loniceras are of easy culture in any good garden soil. Propagated readily by cuttings, also by layers, and sometimes by seeds. L. brachypoda (short-stalked). A synonym of L. flexuosa. L. caerulea (blue-berried). fl. greenish-yellow, tubular; peduncles short, two-flowered, reflexed in the fructiferous state. March and April. fr. a dark blue, elliptic or globose berry, covered with a kind of bloom. l. oval-oblong, ciliated, stiffish, densely pubescent while young. h. 3ft. to 5ft. Northern hemisphere, 1629. Erect, deciduous. (B. M. 1965.) L. Caprifolium (goat's-leaf).* fl. yellowish, with a bluish cube, 2in. long, highly fragrant, ringent, terminal, disposed in capitate whorls. May and June. fr. of a tawny-orange colour, elliptical. l. obovate, acutish, glaucous; uppermost ones broader and connate. Stem twining from left to right. Europe (naturalised in England, &c.). Deciduous. (Sy. En. B. 641.) L. chinensis (Chinese). A synonym of L. japonica.

L. ciliata (ciliate). fl. yellowish, bilabiate; corolla funnel-formed, almost spurred at the base; lobes nearly equal. May. Berries red, separate. l. oblong-ovate, often heart-shaped, petioled, thin, downy beneath. North America, 1824.

L. dioica (dioecious). A synonym of L. parviflora.

L. diversifolia (different-leaved). A synonym of L. quinque-locularis. L. Etrusca (Etruscan). fl. purplish on the outside, and yellow inside, fragrant, disposed in verticillate heads, usually about three heads on the top of each branch. May and June. l. obovate, obtuse, pubescent; lower ones on short petioles; upper ones connately perfoliate, acute. Branches twining. Europe. Deciduous.

L. flava (yellow).* fl. light yellow, fragrant, in approximate whorls; tube of the corolla somewhat gibbous. June. l. smooth, very pale and glaucous on both sides, thickish, obovate or oval, the two to four, upper pairs united into round cup-like disks. North America, 1810. Twiner. (B. M. 1318.) L. flexuosa (flexuous-stemmed).* fl., yellow, axillary, few, almost sessile, very fragrant. June and July. fr. globose, glabrous. l. ovate-oblong, acute, on short petioles, glabrous. Stems flexuous. h. 4ft. to 5ft. Japan, 1806. Deciduous twiner. SYN. L. brachypoda.

L. f. aurea-reticulata (golden-reticulated). l. beautifully netted or variegated with yellow, with a mixture of red towards autumn. An elegant plant.

L. fragrantissima (very fragrant).* fl. white, very fragrant, nearly 1in. across, produced before the leaves are developed; tube short; mouth expanded. February. l. oblong-obovate, acute, rounded at the base, nearly glabrous. h. 6ft. China, 1845. This most desirable erect evergreen species is one of the best fragrant winter-flowering plants cultivated. (L. & P. F. G. 3, 75, 268.) Closely allied to this species is L. Standishii, which has ovate-oblong, or ovate-lanceolate, ciliate leaves, and retrorsely hairy peduncles; in other respects, it is similar to L. fragrantissima, and is by no means inferior. (B. M. 5709.) L. glauca (glaucous-leaved). fl. yellow; corolla long, tubular; tube slender; peduncles short; ovary free. July, fr., berries globose. l. linear-oblong, obtuse; margins scaberulous, recurved, glaucous underneath. Western Himalayas. A dwarf, densely branched, wiry undershrub.

L. hirsuta (hairy). fl. yellow; spikes or racemes composed of verticillate heads of flowers; corolla beset with glandular pubescence. June and July. l. broad, ovate-elliptic, on short petioles, pubescent and ciliated, glaucous beneath; upper ones connately perfoliate. Branches twining. North America, 1822. Deciduous. SYNS. Caprifolium hirsutum and L. pubescens. (B. M. 3103.) L. implexa (interwoven). fl. red, yellow, capitate, terminal. June to September. l. evergreen, leathery, oblong, entire, shining above, glaucous beneath. Plant glabrous. h. 8ft. Europe. 1772. Twiner. (B. M. 640.) L. involucrata (involucrate). fl. yellow, tinged with red, viscid; peduncles axillary, two or three-flowered. June. l. ovate or oblong, somewhat acuminated, stiff, pubescent, tomentose on the nerves. Branches elongated, acutely tetragonal. h. 2ft. to 3ft. California, 1833. An erect species. SYN. L. Ledebourii. (B. R. 1179.) L. japonica (Japanese). fl. red, villous on the outside and white within, about 1in. long, fragrant, twin. July to September. l. petiolate, ovate, acutish, villous, pale beneath; upper ones the smallest. Branchlets opposite, very hairy, bearing two leaves and two sessile flowers at the top of each. Stem twining, flexuous, hairy Japan and China 1806 (B.M 3316, under name of L. chinensis.) L. Ledebourii (Ledebour's). A synonym of L. involucrata. L. longiflora (long-flowered). fl. at first snow-white, but finally changing to a golden-yellow, several inches long; peduncles short, two-flowered. July to September. l. petiolate, oblong-lanceolate, shining above and pale beneath. Branches twining. China, &c., 1826. Deciduous. (B. R. 1232, under name of Caprifolium longiflorum.) L. parviflora (small-flowered). fl. in two or three closely approximate whorl, raised on a peduncle; corolla greenish-yellow, tinged with dull purple, gibbous at the base, smooth outside. May and June. l. smooth, oblong, green above, very glaucous beneath, the upper pairs united, all closely sessile. North America. Deciduous twiner. (B. R. 138, under name of L. dioica.) L. p. Douglasii (Douglas's). fl., corolla crimson or deep purple. l. greener than in the type, more or less downy underneath when young, or ciliate. North America.

L. Periclymenum (Periclymenum).* Woodbine, or Common Honeysuckle. fl. externally deep red, ringent, disposed in heads, all of which are terminal, ovate, and imbricated. Spring to autumn. fr. nearly globular, deep red, bitter and nauseous, accompanied by permanent bracts. l. ovate, obtuse, attenuated at the base, sometimes downy, glaucous. Branches climbing. Europe, &c. (Britain). Deciduous. (Sy. En. B. 642.) There are several varieties of this well-known shrub.

L. pubescens (downy). A synonym of L. hirsuta.

L. punicea (scarlet-flowered). fl. deep red or crimson; peduncles axillary and almost terminal, two-flowered, shorter than the leaves; tube of corolla rather gibbous at the base; segments unequal. April and May. l. ovate, sub-cordate at the base, sometimes three in a whorl on the young shoots. h. 2ft. to 4ft. Native country unknown, 1825. Erect. SYN. Symphoricarpus puniceus. (B. M. 2469.) L. quinqueloularis (five-celled). fl. yellow, twin, sessile, axillary; lower lobe of corolla linear, recurved, trident; upper cordate. June and July. l. ovate, acute, h. 4ft. North India 1840. Plant downy, erect. (B. R. 1844, 33, under name of L. diversifolia.) L. sempervirens (evergreen).* fl. of a beautiful scarlet outside and yellow inside, about 1in. long; spikes nearly naked, composed of whorls; tube of corolla ventricose on the upper side. Spring and summer. l. obovate or ovate. glaucous beneath, glabrous; upper ones connately perfoliate. Branches twining. North America, 1656. (B. M. 781.) This evergreen species is the most handsome of all the cultivated Honeysuckles; it is best grown in a cool greenhouse. There is a very desirable variety, minor. (B. M. 1753.) L. tatarica (Tartarian).* fl. rose-coloured, short, somewhat gibbous at the base; peduncles two-flowered, shorter than the leaves. April and May. fr. black, nearly globose when young, but at length connate at the base. l. cordate-ovate, hardly acute. h. 4ft. to 6ft. Tartary, 1752. Erect, deciduous. (B. R. 31.) There are several varieties of this species, differing principally in the colour of the flowers.

L. tomentella (slightly downy). fl., corolla white, scarcely 1/2in. long; mouth equal; lobes short; throat villous. July. fr., berry black. l. linear-oblong or lanceolate, obtuse or acute. Branches distichous, upright. h. 10ft. to 12ft. Sikkim-Himalayas, 1849. (B. M. 6486.) L. Xylosteum (Xylosteum). Fly Honeysuckle. fl. cream-coloured, downy, small; peduncles two-flowered, shorter than the leaves. July. fr. oval, scarlet, one-celled, six-seeded. l. ovate, acute, petiolate, soft. h. 4ft. to 5ft. England. An erect deciduous shrub, of little beauty. SYN. Xylosteum dumetorum (F. D. 808; Sy. En. B. 916.)