Pronunciation: loh-NISS-er-uh reh-tik-yoo-LAY-tuh · Also known as Lonicera prolifera
Family: Caprifoliaceae · honeysuckle family
Genus: Lonicera
Habit: Deciduous perennial vine
Length: Up to about 15 feet
Bloom: Late spring to early summer
Flowers: Pale yellow, tubular and two-lipped
Fruit: Orange-red to red berries
Explore flowers, joined leaves, developing berries and autumn foliage. Select a photo for a closer look.
Joined leaves: The upper leaf pair wraps around the stem as one broad disk, often with a conspicuous waxy blue-green coating.
Yellow flower tubes: Look for a small swelling on one side near the base. The flowers occur in whorls along a stalk above the joined leaves.
Rounded foliage: Opposite leaves are broad and generally smooth, with rounded tips.
Red fruit: The berries develop where the flowers stood. Their color alone does not separate native honeysuckle vines.
Look along woodland borders, wooded slopes, savannas, thickets and riverbanks. Stems climb through neighboring vegetation or sprawl when support is absent.
Flowers are easiest to find in late spring and early summer. Later visits reveal berries and changing foliage.
A native of central and eastern North America, including parts of Wisconsin and Illinois. Sightings maps show reported observations rather than complete range boundaries.
Wild Honeysuckle (Lonicera dioica) also has joined upper leaves and red berries. Its upper leaf pair is often narrower, and the flowers may be red, maroon or yellow. Grape Honeysuckle typically has broader, waxier upper leaves and more distinctly separated flower whorls. Use the leaves and flower structure together.
The long flower tubes provide nectar for hummingbirds and long-tongued insects. Birds and small mammals eat the ripe fruit.
This native vine is different from introduced bush honeysuckles. Those shrubs bear flower and fruit pairs along their branches rather than clusters above a joined leaf disk.
