Winter honeysuckle - Lonicera fragrantissima
Lonicera fragrantissima, also known as Winter Honeysuckle, Fragrant Honeysuckle, Sweet Breath of Spring, or January Jasmine is an invasive plant originally native to eastern China. It is a multi-stemmed, somewhat stiff-branched, upright, deciduous (evergreen in the South) shrub that grows from 6-10 ft. (1.8-3 m) tall. The stems are hollow with stringy, tan bark and are often purple when young. Leaves are opposite, round, or ovalish 1-3 in. (2.5-7.6 cm) long and wide and usually persist into winter. Leaves are dark green with sometimes a blue tinge. Flowering occurs in the late winter (though can in the U.S. occur as late as April), when fragrant, tubular, 0.5 in. (1.5 cm) long, white to red or yellow, thin-petaled flowers (most often creamy white) develop in pairs in the leaf axils. The abundant berries are 1/3 in. (8.5 mm) in diameter and ripen to orange or red in the mid-summer and often persist throughout winter.
Winter Honeysuckle readily invades open woodlands, old fields and other disturbed sites. Its rapid spread is attributed to birds and mammals dispersing the seeds. It can form a dense understory thicket which can restrict native plant growth and tree seedling establishment. This plant was first introduced into North America in the late 1800s. It has been planted widely as an ornamental and for wildlife food and cover.
www.invasiveplantatlas.org/subject.html?sub=3038
www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens-gardening/your-ga...
Winter honeysuckle - Lonicera fragrantissima
Lonicera fragrantissima, also known as Winter Honeysuckle, Fragrant Honeysuckle, Sweet Breath of Spring, or January Jasmine is an invasive plant originally native to eastern China. It is a multi-stemmed, somewhat stiff-branched, upright, deciduous (evergreen in the South) shrub that grows from 6-10 ft. (1.8-3 m) tall. The stems are hollow with stringy, tan bark and are often purple when young. Leaves are opposite, round, or ovalish 1-3 in. (2.5-7.6 cm) long and wide and usually persist into winter. Leaves are dark green with sometimes a blue tinge. Flowering occurs in the late winter (though can in the U.S. occur as late as April), when fragrant, tubular, 0.5 in. (1.5 cm) long, white to red or yellow, thin-petaled flowers (most often creamy white) develop in pairs in the leaf axils. The abundant berries are 1/3 in. (8.5 mm) in diameter and ripen to orange or red in the mid-summer and often persist throughout winter.
Winter Honeysuckle readily invades open woodlands, old fields and other disturbed sites. Its rapid spread is attributed to birds and mammals dispersing the seeds. It can form a dense understory thicket which can restrict native plant growth and tree seedling establishment. This plant was first introduced into North America in the late 1800s. It has been planted widely as an ornamental and for wildlife food and cover.
www.invasiveplantatlas.org/subject.html?sub=3038
www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens-gardening/your-ga...