Japanese Honeysuckle

Description:

It is a twining vine able to climb up to 10 metres (33 ft) high or more in trees, with opposite, simple oval leaves 3–8 centimetres (1.2–3.1 in) long and 2–3 centimetres (0.79–1.2 in) broad. The flowers are double-tongued, opening white and fading to yellow, and sweetly vanilla scented. The fruit is a dark blue berry 5–8 millimetres (0.20–0.31 in) diameter containing numerous seeds.

Habitat:

Japanese Honeysuckle is a species of honeysuckle native to eastern Asia including China, Japan and Korea. This one was photographed at Brick Pond Park in North Augusta (Aiken County), SC.

Notes:

It is considered an invasive species in many areas. It grows extremely rapidly in parts of America such as southwestern Ohio and is virtually impossible to control in naturalized woodland edge zones due to its rapid spread via tiny fruit seeds. It is an effective groundcover, and has pleasant, strong-smelling flowers. It can be cultivated by seed, cuttings, or layering. In addition, it will spread itself via shoots if given enough space to grow.