Honeysuckles (genusLonicera) are arching shrubs or twining vines, many with sweetly-scented, bell-shaped flowers. There are over 180 species of honeysuckle, the most common of which are Lonicera periclymenum (European honeysuckle), Lonicera japonica (Japanese honeysuckle, White honeysuckle, or Chinese honeysuckle) and Lonicera sempervirens (Coral honeysuckle, Trumpet honeysuckle, or Woodbine honeysuckle).
The leaves are opposite, simple oval, and from 1-10 cm long; most are deciduous but some are evergreen.
Japanese honeysuckle and Amur Honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii) are considered invasive weeds in the United States, Japanese honeysuckle also in New Zealand. Honeysuckle can be controlled by cutting, flaming, or burning the plant to root level and repeating on two week increments until nutrient reserves in the roots are depleted. Honeysuckle can also be controlled through annual applications of glyphosate, or through grubbing if high labor and soil destruction are not of concern.
Lonicera xbella is an introduced species in Wisconsin and it has become invasive in our native communities.
Birds eat the fruits and appear to be a major means of spreading the seeds.
Lonicera xbella will sprout back vigorously if the stems are cut off, so the stumps must either be pulled or treated with herbicide, such as glyphosate ("Roundup"), which can be applied directly to the cut stump to avoid harming desireable plants nearby.
Lonicera (see Figure 1) and forsythia (see Figure 2) are the most commonly-used herbs that are classified among those that clear heat and clean toxin.
Lonicera and forsythia are combined together with surface-relieving herbs to treat the wei stage; lonicera has a small fragrant component that supports the surface relieving action of other herbs (e.g., mentha) and both herbs usually contribute the main part of the heat-clearing function in the surface relieving formulas.
The active constituents of lonicera have been analyzed and are found to include: iridoid glycosides; organic acids (quinic acid and caffeic acid and their derivatives); triterpene glycosides (saponins); flavonoids; and essential oil comprised mainly of monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes (the major essential oil constituents have been found to be linalool, geraniol, aromadendrene and eugenol).
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