A well known vining plant in the Southeast that is actually native to East Asia. Japanese honeysuckle has escaped from residential gardens where it is used as an ornamental plant and become invasive. The flowers are double-tongued, opening white and fading to yellow, and sweetly vanilla scented. The fruit, which is produced in fall, is a black spherical berry. When its stems are young, they are slightly red in color and may be fuzzy. Older stems are brown with peeling bark, and are often hollow on the inside.
Lonicera japonica was initially brought to the U.S. from Japan in the early 1800s as an ornamental plant, but has become invasive in many areas. It prefers to invade areas that have been disturbed, such as roadsides or floodplains. Once it has invaded an area, Lonicera japonica grows rapidly and outcompetes native plants for sunlight and nutrients. Eventually, it will form a dense thicket which prevents other plant species from germinating in that area. Due to its suppression of germination in the understory, Lonicera japonica also prevents the regeneration of trees
Least Concern
