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.