Japanese Honeysuckle

Lonicera japonica

Description: Semi-evergreen to evergreen woody vine, climbing and trailing to 80 feet long, branching and often forming arbors in forest canopies and ground cover.

Ecological Threat: Has few natural enemies which allows it to spread widely and out-compete native plant species. Its evergreen to semi-evergreen nature gives it an added advantage over native species in many areas. Shrubs and young trees can be killed by girdling when vines twist tightly around stems and trunks, cutting off the flow of water through the plant. Dense growths of honeysuckle covering vegetation can gradually kill plants by blocking sunlight from reaching their leaves.

Biology & Spread:  Produces long vegetative runners that develop roots where stem and leaf junctions (nodes) come in contact with moist soil. Underground stems (rhizomes) help to establish and spread the plant locally. Long distance seed dispersal by birds and other wildlife.

Threat in Oklahoma:  Overwhelming native flora in eastern and central forests.  Occurs as dense infestations along forest margins and right-of-ways as well as under dense forest canopies. 

Management:  Problem Horticultural Plants