Japanese Honeysuckle - Lonicera japonica

Japanese honeysuckle is an evergreen to semi-evergreen vine that can be found either trailing or climbing to heights of over 80 feet. It has opposite, oval shaped leaves that are 1 to 2.5 inches long. Showy, fragrant, tubular flowers that are whitish-pink to yellow in color and small green berries that turn black when ripened make this plant easily identifiable any time of the year.

Japanese honeysuckle, Lonicera japonica, was introduced to the United States for erosion control before 1860. Most honeysuckle occurs in the Piedmont, where it is found in greatest abundance is in abandoned cropland, or rolling uplands with loamy, well-drained soils (Craver 1982).

Large "impenetrable" mats occur in some areas (Stransky 1984). It competes with young timber in 10 percent of forest land from Georgia to Maryland.

From a practical viewpoint, Japanese honeysuckle cannot be eradicated. However, it can be controlled by shading. Increasing the percent of tree stocking has an effect on density, but not occurrence, of honeysuckle. In a study conducted near Nacogdoches, Texas, Japanese honeysuckle grown in an open field was nearly 8 times more prolific than honeysuckle grown beneath a forest of shortleaf (Pinus echinata) and loblolly pine (P. taeda) (Hall and Alcaniz 1968). Stem length per plant for open-field honeysuckle was 8,369 cm and 1,009 cm beneath trees. Therefore, clearcutting should be used with caution in some areas and, instead, group and single-tree selection cuts might be used to assure control by shading. Both mechanical and chemical means have been used to control honeysuckle. Herbicide treatments appear to be more effective than mechanical suppression. Among successful mechanical methods during site regeneration are brush-hogging and planting seedlings or disking with natural regeneration (McLemore 1984, Giles 2001).

Although Japanese honeysuckle is considered to be a forest pest, it does offer some benefits. It is eaten by at least 14 wildlife species and is favored in some areas by deer. In a study of seasonal nutrient quality and digestibility of Japanese honeysuckle, it was found that seasonal variations in nutrient quality and metabolic usefulness of leaves and twigs are closely associated with plant growth and tissue maturation. During rapid spring growth, leaves and twigs are most succulent and their dry matter fractionare highest in nutrition and digestibility. During the summer, as twig growth slows, fiber deposition increases in maturing tissues and quality and digestibility decline. Twigs express this decline to a greater degree than leaves. Throughout the year, leaves generally have high nutrient content and are more digestibile than twigs (Giles 2001). Japanese honeysuckle is also valued for erosion control and its aesthetic qualities. For more information and control recommendations, click here.