BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Diervilla lonicera | Bush-Honeysuckle 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Bush-honeysuckle is a native, deciduous small shrub that usually grows
from 2 to 4 feet (0.6-1.2 m) tall [15].  The branches run close to the
ground, ascending slightly.  The fruit is a dry, woody, dehiscent
capsule [8].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Chamaephyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Asexual: Bush-honeysuckle reproduces from rhizomes, forming
widely-scattered clumps or patches [3,40,44].

Sexual: Bush-honeysuckle is insect pollinated.  Its most important
pollinators in Michigan are bumblebees.  It is self-incompatible;
successful seed set requires pollination by insects that have travelled
from another clonal patch, which is usually some distance away [40,44].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Bush-honeysuckle is common on exposed, rocky sites and on dry to mesic,
well-drained soils [15,22].  In northern Michigan, it is found in open,
sandy thickets, woodlands, and jack pine (Pinus banksiana) plains [40].
It is best developed on dry, infertile soils in cool climates [7].

In the Adirondack Mountains of New York, bush-honeysuckle is found from
elevations of 100 feet (30 m) to 4,050 feet (1,234 m) [22].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Facultative seral species

Bush-honeysuckle is relatively insensitive to differences in light
intensity [3].  Its abundance in jack pine communities usually remains
relatively constant for a long time but declines in older (approximately
80 years of age) stands [3].  In jack pine-balsam fir community types,
bush-honeysuckle is most common on sites that have been cleared and/or
burned within the past 30 to 50 years [31,40].


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
The peak flowering season for bush-honeysuckle is from early June to
early July, but flowers have opened as late as August in Michigan
[15,40].  The fruit matures and releases seeds in September [8].

Related categories for Species: Diervilla lonicera | Bush-Honeysuckle