8. Lonicera sempervirens L. (trumpet honeysuckle, coral honeysuckle)

Map 1428, Pl. 334 d, e

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, the pith hollow, the bark of older branches becoming shredded. Winter buds conical, glabrous. Leaf blades mostly 3.0–7.5 cm long, 1.5–4.5 cm wide, elliptic to oblong-elliptic, oblanceolate, or occasionally ovate, angled or tapered at the base, rounded to angled or tapered to a usually bluntly pointed tip, those of the uppermost 1 or few pairs strongly perfoliate, 1.2–2.8 times as long as wide, the pair broadly elliptic to oblong-elliptic in overall outline, rounded or broadly angled to usually bluntly pointed tips, sometimes abruptly tapered to minute, sharp points, the upper surface usually bright green (that of the perfoliate leaves usually bright green), the undersurface glabrous, moderately to strongly glaucous (pale green). Flowers in 1–4 whorls of 6 at the branch tips, the flowers sessile, the 2 bracts each 0.5–1.5 mm long, free or occasionally appearing fused at the base, broadly triangular, glabrous, the pair of bractlets on opposite sides of each flower minute (0.2–0.5 mm long), free, oblong to broadly ovate. Calyces glabrous, the lobes 0.1–0.4 mm long, broadly oblong-rounded to broadly triangular, often pale or pinkish-tinged. Corollas 38–48 mm long, nearly actinomorphic, divided less than 1/5 of the way to the base into 5 loosely ascending to more or less spreading, similar lobes, the sinuses on either side of 1 lobe slightly deeper than those between the others, the tube with an elongate, slightly swollen area on the lower side near the base, bright red to orangish red, not changing color after pollination. Stamens and style exserted from the corolla, somewhat longer than the corolla lobes, the style glabrous. Ovaries free. Fruits 6–10 mm in diameter, orangish red to red. 2n=36. April–July.

Introduced, scattered, mostly south of the Missouri River (Maine to Florida west to Oklahoma and Texas; Canada; introduced northwest to Iowa and Kansas). Mesic upland forests, banks of streams and rivers, margins of sinkhole ponds; also fencerows, old homesites, and roadsides.

This beautiful plant deserves more attention from gardeners. It is not particularly invasive in native plant communities. The flowers have no scent, but they are very attractive to hummingbirds. Some botanists have called plants from a series of populations in the southeastern states with hairy upper leaf surfaces and somewhat glandular ovaries var. hirsutula Rehder.