3. Lonicera flava Sims (yellow honeysuckle)

L. flava var. flavescens Gleason

Map 1423, Pl. 334 a, b

Plants lianas to 4 m or more long, the main stems loosely twining toward the tips, climbing on adjacent vegetation (sometimes twining on themselves and forming loose mounds) or occasionally more or less trailing on the ground. Twigs glabrous, usually glaucous, the pith hollow, the bark of older branches sometimes becoming shredded. Winter buds conical but somewhat flattened, glabrous. Leaf blades mostly 3–9 cm long, 2.0–6.5 cm wide, most elliptic, rounded or more commonly angled at the base, rounded or more commonly angled or tapered to a bluntly or sharply pointed tip, those of the uppermost 1 or few pairs strongly perfoliate, 1.2–2.2 times as long as wide, the pair broadly elliptic to oblong-elliptic in overall outline, rounded or broadly angled to bluntly pointed tips, sometimes abruptly tapered to minute, sharp points, the upper surface glabrous and bright green (that of the perfoliate leaves sometimes slightly glaucous toward the center), the undersurface glabrous or sparsely to moderately pubescent with soft, more or less spreading hairs along the midvein, slightly to moderately glaucous (usually pale green). Flowers in 1 or 2 whorls of 6 at the branch tips, the flowers sessile, the 2 bracts each 0.8–3.0 mm long, free, oblanceolate to bluntly triangular, glabrous, the pair of bractlets on opposite sides of each flower minute (0.4–1.2 mm long), free, oblong to broadly ovate. Calyces glabrous, the lobes 0.2–0.4 mm long, broadly oblong-rounded to broadly triangular, often pale or whitened. Corollas 20–35 mm long, strongly zygomorphic, divided 1/3–1/2 of the way to the base into 2 recurved-curled lips of about equal length, the upper lip shallowly (3)4-lobed, the lower lip with 1 lobe, the tube slender and not swollen or pouched near the base, bright yellow to orange, sometimes strongly reddish-tinged along the tube, not changing color after pollination. Stamens and style exserted from the corolla, slightly longer than the corolla lobes, the style usually glabrous. Ovaries free. Fruits 5–10 mm in diameter, orangish red to red. 2n=18. April–June.

Scattered in the Ozark and Ozark Border Divisions (Kansas and Oklahoma east to Ohio, North Carolina, and Georgia). Mesic to dry upland forests, edges of glades, savannas, ledges and tops of bluffs, and banks of streams and rivers; rarely also roadsides.

This species tends to be more robust and colorful than the other native honeysuckles in the state. It is an attractive arbor plant in gardens and recently has become available commercially through a few specialty native plant nurseries.