Plantae>Magnoliophyta>Magnoliopsida>Dipsacales>Caprifoliaceae>Lonicera maackii (Rupr.) Herder
| Amur Honeysuckle is a highly invasive large shrub or small tree from China that is still rare in the Durham, NC area. The easiest place to find it is the border of the Bio-Sci parking lot at Duke. The simple, opposite leaves have long, tapered tips. Like Japanese Honeysuckle (L. japonica), the fragrant flowers turn from white to yellowish as they age. They bloom in late April. |
| The flowers are 5-parted. The top 4 petals are fused together, unlike the similar L. morrowii, another exotic invasive shrub. This one's being pollinated by another exotic species - European Honeybee (Apis mellifera), whose populations are kept in check by an exotic species of mite (Varroa jacobsoni) from Asia! Copious amounts of red fruits are produced, which are gobbled up and spread by birds. |
| Bark is deeply fissured and peels off in strips. |
More information:
Bioimages
Missouri Plants
University of Connecticut
Virginia Tech Dendrology
Revised 3/6/06 cwcook@duke.edu
All photographs and text ©2006 by Will Cook unless otherwise indicated.