Introductory
SPECIES: Lonicera japonica | Japanese Honeysuckle 



ABBREVIATION : 
LONJAP

SYNONYMS : 
NO-ENTRY


SCS PLANT CODE : 
   LOJA


COMMON NAMES : 
   Japanese honeysuckle
   white honeysuckle
   Chinese honeysuckle


TAXONOMY : 
The currently accepted scientific name for Japanese honeysuckle is
Lonicera japonica Thunb. [13].  There are no recognized subspecies,
varieties, or forms.


LIFE FORM : 
Vine, Shrub

FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS : 
No special status

OTHER STATUS : 
NO-ENTRY


COMPILED BY AND DATE : 
Milo Coladonato, April 1992


LAST REVISED BY AND DATE : 
NO-ENTRY


AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION : 
Coladonato, Milo. 1992. Lonicera japonica. In: Remainder of Citation

DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Lonicera japonica | Japanese Honeysuckle 



GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : 
Japanese honeysuckle's range extends from southern New York and New
Jersey south to southern Florida and west to southwestern Texas.  Inland
it is distributed from Pennsylvania and West Virginia west to Missouri,
Kansas, and Oklahoma [7,13,37].  Disjunct populations occur in
Massachusetts and Connecticut [32].


ECOSYSTEMS : 
   FRES12  Longleaf - slash pine
   FRES13  Loblolly - shortleaf pine
   FRES14  Oak - pine
   FRES15  Oak - hickory
   FRES16  Oak - gum - cypress
   FRES17  Elm - ash - cottonwood
   FRES18  Maple - beech - birch


STATES : 
     AL  AR  CT  DE  FL  GA  HI  IL  IN  IA
     KS  KY  LA  MD  MA  MS  MO  NJ  NY  NC
     OH  OK  PA  RI  SC  TN  TX  VA  WV


ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS : 
     ALPO  ANTI  ASIS  BISO  BITH  BLRI
     BUFF  CACO  CAHA  CALO  CATO  CHCH
     CHIR  COLO  COSW  CUGA  CUIS  CUVA
     DEWA  FIIS  FODA  GATE  GWCA  GWMP
     GRSM  GUIS  HOBE  HOSP  JELA  MACA
     MANA  NATR  NERI  OBRI  PRWI  ROCR
     SHEN  SHIL  VAFO


BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS : 
NO-ENTRY


KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS : 
   K100  Oak - hickory forest
   K101  Elm - ash forest
   K102  Beech - maple forest
   K103  Mixed mesophytic forest
   K104  Appalachian oak forest
   K111  Oak - hickory - pine forest
   K112  Southern mixed forest
   K113  Southern floodplain forest
   K114  Pocosin
   K115  Sand pine scrub
   K116  Subtropical pine forest


SAF COVER TYPES : 
    40  Post oak - blackjack oak
    42  Bur oak
    43  Bear oak
    44  Chestnut oak
    45  Pitch pine 
    46  Eastern redcedar
    52  White oak - black oak - northern oak
    57  Yellow poplar
    60  Beech - sugar maple
    64  Sassafras - persimmon
    70  Longleaf pine
    75  Shortleaf pine
    76  Shortleaf pine - oak
    78  Virginia pine - oak
    79  Virginia pine
    80  Loblolly pine - shortleaf pine
    81  Loblolly pine
    82  Loblolly pine - hardwood
    83  Longleaf pine - slash pine
    87  Sweetgum - yellow-poplar
    91  Swamp chestnut oak - cherrybark oak
    93  Sugarberry - American elm - green ash
    94  Sycamore - sweetgum - American elm
   104  Sweetbay - swamp tupelo - redbay
   110  Black oak


SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES : 
NO-ENTRY


HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES : 
Common tree associates of Japanese honeysuckle include blackgum (Nyssa
sylvatica), sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), hickory (Carya spp.),
red maple (Acer rubrum), American beech (Fagus grandifolia), and
flowering dogwood (Cornus florida).  Understory associates include
blueberry (Vaccinium spp.), greenbrier (Smilax spp.), bayberry (Myrcia
cerifera), and poison-ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) [23,40].

VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Lonicera japonica | Japanese Honeysuckle 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 



IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Japanese honeysuckle is an important white-tailed deer food in Indiana
and Ohio [20].  The prolific growth of evergreen foliage provides deer
with an excellent food source in fall and winter.  Deer utilization of
Japanese honeysuckle is particularly heavy during periods of thick snow
cover.  Field observations indicate that deer often remain for extended
periods of time in Japanese honeysuckle thickets feeding on the leaves
and stems [28,29,35].

The fruit of Japanese honeysuckle is used by a wide variety of game and
songbirds.  Northern bobwhite quail, hermit thrush, and tufted titmice
regularly eat Japanese honeysuckle fruit.  The mockingbird, bluebird,
goldfinch, and white-throated sparrow eat the fruit when little else is
available [14,15].


PALATABILITY : 
Japanese honeysuckle is considered a highly palatable white-tailed deer
browse [16,28,29].


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Japanese honeysuckle has a relatively high nutrient value.  It is listed
as exceptionally high in crude protein, calcium, and fat [3].


COVER VALUE : 
Throughout its range, Japanese honeysuckle provides thermal and hiding
cover for wild turkey, northern bobwhite quail, and rabbits [8,22].
White-tailed deer utilize dense thickets of Japanese honeysuckle for
bedding and thermal cover during winter [27,29].


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Japanese honeysuckle is highly tolerant of adverse sites and has been
grown successfully on mine spoils in the eastern United States.
However, due to its deleterious impact on native vegetation and tree
survival, it is not generally used for rehabilitation of disturbed sites
[38].

Japanese honeysuckle can be used for wildlife habitat and watershed
protection.  It is easily cultivated from cuttings or seed [17].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Japanese honeysuckle has been cultivated in the southeastern United
States for its fragrant and showy flowers.  It reproduces so abundantly,
however, that it has become a troublesome weed [37].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Japanese honeysuckle has escaped cultivation and become widespread in
the eastern and southern United States.  It has an extended growing
season and has suppressed tree growth in mature upland forests,
particularly in forest gaps and areas disturbed by logging [39].

Herbicide treatment during the flowering season has been shown to
control Japanese honeysuckle effectively [1,9].  In Indiana, glyphosate
treatment reduced Japanese honeysuckle aboveground cover by 81 percent
[30].

BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Lonicera japonica | Japanese Honeysuckle 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Japanese honeysuckle is an exotic, fast-growing, trailing or climbing
evergreen vine that can become shrublike when growing in forest margins
or fencerows [13].  Individual vines are typically 6.5 to 10 feet
(2.0-3.0 m) in length.  The plant forms dense mats and thickets through
subsequent branching, nodal rooting, and vegetative sprouting [7,14].
Its dense vines climb on the trunks and branches of large trees and
shrubs and will even climb on other vines.  It has a dense root system
that may extend laterally for a distance of 7 to 10 feet (2-3 m) and
attain depths of 3 to 4 feet (1.0-1.5 m) [32].  The flowers and fruits
are on peduncles in leaf axils.  The fruit is a berrylike drupe with
three to five one-seeded stones [5,13].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Phanerophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Japanese honeysuckle produces large quantities of seed which are
disseminated by birds, mammals, and floodwaters [33].  Once established,
it reproduces vegetatively by rooting from the nodes of runners which
come into contact with the soil [11,32].

Growth:  Japanese honeysuckle grows rapidly and results in extensive
twining and climbing of the existing vegetation.  Individual stems and
branches that emerge from lateral buds on the stems may grow several
feet in length during one season [5,32].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Japanese honeysuckle is found from low, wet bottomlands to mesic upland
forests [7,13].  It grows well on clay soils, with a pH ranging from 6.0
to 7.5.  Growth is best on well-drained forest soils [18].  Japanese
honeysuckle adapts readily to a wide range of climatic conditions, but
it is not hardy in the Northeast.  The species grows in the sand plains
of Louisiana and the oak forests of the Adirondacks.  It rarely occurs
above 1,200 feet (365 m) in elevation [18,37].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Japanese honeysuckle can be found in all stages of forest succession.
The plant will quickly invade following clearcutting, fire, windthrow,
or temporary openings in the forest canopy.  Japanese honeysuckle is
shade tolerant and will respond to more favorable light conditions
with greatly increased growth, dominating the area in a relatively short
time [5,19].


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Japanese honeysuckle flowers from June through September in the
Northeast and from April through July in the Southeast.  Occasionally,
flowering takes place in March through October in the southern states.
The fruit ripens from August to November [18,37].

FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Lonicera japonica | Japanese Honeysuckle 



FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : 
Japanese honeysuckle sprouts from the root crown following fire.  It
also roots from the nodes of its runners or establishes from
animal-dispersed seed [6,26].


POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : 
   survivor species; on-site surviving root crown or caudex
   off-site colonizer; seed carried by animals or water; postfire yr 1&2

FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Lonicera japonica | Japanese Honeysuckle 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
Fire typically top-kills Japanese honeysuckle [2,34].  Underground
vegetative portions are most likely to survive after light or moderate
fires.  Some aboveground portions may survive if the fire is not high in
severity or long enough in duration to reach down into the dense
thickets [2,4].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
After being top-killed by fire, Japanese honeysuckle sprouts vigorously
from the root crown [2,6].  In the Georgia Piedmont, a prescribed fire
reduced Japanese honeysuckle cover by 80 percent, but its occurrence
increased to 52 percent of its original cover by the first year after
burning and 90 percent by the third year [4].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Fire and herbicides used in combination have had the greatest success in
controlling Japanese honeysuckle [1].  Fire should be used with caution
when the climbing vines of Japanese honeysuckle have ascended to the
tops of trees.  These vines become fire ladders that may aid in the
destruction of desirable pines and hardwoods [2,34].

References for species: Lonicera japonica

1. Anderson, Roger C.; Schwegman, John E. 1991. Twenty years of vegetational change on a southern Illinois barren. Natural Areas Journal. 11(2): 100-107. [16256]

2. Barden, Lawrence S.; Matthews, James F. 1980. Change in abundance of honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) and other ground flora after prescribed burning of a Piedmont pine forest. Castanea. 45: 257-260. [9784]

3. Blair, Robert M.; Short, Henry L.; Burkart, Leonard F.; [and others]. 1980. Seasonality of nutrient quality and digestibility of three southern deer browse species. Res. Pap. SO-161. New Orleans, LA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Forest Experiment Station. 13 p. [15864]

4. Bramlett, Dave L.; Jones, Earle P., Jr.; Wade, Dale D. 1991. Herbicide and burn site preparation in the Georgia Piedmont. In: Coleman, Sandra S.; Neary, Daniel G., compilers. Proceedings, 6th biennial southern silvicultural research conference: Volume 1; 1990 October 30 - November 1; Memphis, TN. Gen. Tech. Rep. SE-70. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southeastern Forest Experiment Station: 138-146. [17472]

5. Carter, Gregory A.; Teramura, Alan H. 1988. Vine photosynthesis and relationships to climbing mechanics in a forest understory. American Journal of Botany. 75(7): 1011-1018. [9317]

6. Devet, David D.; Hopkins, Melvin L. 1968. Response of wildlife habitat to the prescribed burning program on the National Forests in South Carolina. Proceedings, Annual Conference of Southeastern Association of Game and Fish Commissioners. 21: 129-133. [14633]

7. Duncan, Wilbur H.; Duncan, Marion B. 1987. The Smithsonian guide to seaside plants of the Gulf and Atlantic Coasts from Louisiana to Massachusetts, exclusive of lower peninsular Florida. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press. 409 p. [12906]

8. Ellis, Jack A.; Edwards, William R.; Thomas, Keith P. 1969. Responses of bobwhites to management in Illinois. Journal of Wildlife Management. 33(4): 749-762. [16070]

9. Evans, James E.; Heitlinger, Mark. 1984. IPM: a review for natural area managers. Restoration and Management Notes. 2(1): 18-22. [3991]

10. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905]

11. Faulkner, Jerry L.; Clebsch, Edward E. C.; Sanders, William L. 1989. Use of prescribed burning for managing natural and historic resources in Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, U.S.A. Environmental Management. 13(5): 603-612. [13020]

12. Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others]. 1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p. [998]

13. Godfrey, Robert K. 1988. Trees, shrubs, and woody vines of northern Florida and adjacent Georgia and Alabama. Athens, GA: The University of Georgia Press. 734 p. [10239]

14. Handley, C. O. 1945. Japanese honeysuckle in wildlife management. Journal of Wildlife Management. 9(4): 261-264. [17799]

15. Hardin, Kimberly I.; Evans, Keith E. 1977. Cavity nesting bird habitat in the oak-hickory forests--a review. Gen. Tech. Rep. NC-30. St. Paul, MN: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, North Central Forest Experiment Station. 23 p. [13859]

16. Harlow, Richard F.; Shrauder, Paul A.; Seehorn, Monte E. 1975. Deer browse resources of the Oconee National Forest. Res. Pap. SE-137. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southeastern Forest Experiment Station. 16 p. [14602]

17. Hughes, H. Glenn. 1990. Ecological restoration: fact or fantasy on strip-mined lands in western Pennsylvania? In: Hughes, H. Glenn; Bonnicksen, Thomas M., eds. Restoration '89: the new management challenge: Proceedings, 1st annual meeting of the Society for Ecological Restoration; 1989 January 16-20; Oakland, CA. Madison, WI: The University of Wisconsin Arboretum, Society for Ecological Restoration: 237-243. [14699]

18. Jackson, Lawrence W. 1974. Honeysuckles. In: Gill, John D.; Healy, William M., compilers. Shrubs and vines for northeastern wildlife. Gen. Tech. Rep. NE-9. Upper Darby, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station: 71-82. [17800]

19. Jones, Steven M. 1988. Old-growth forests within the Piedmont of South Carolina. Natural Areas Journal. 8(1): 31-37. [11008]

20. Kodama, H. E.; Van Lear, D. H. 1980. Prescribed burning and nutrient cycling relationships in young loblolly pine plantations. Southern Journal of Applied Forestry. 4(3): 118-121. [6344]

21. Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York: American Geographical Society. 77 p. [1384]

22. Landers, J. Larry. 1981. The role of fire in bobwhite quail management. In: Wood, Gene W., ed. Prescribed fire and wildlife in southern forests: Proceedings of a symposium; 1981 April 6-8; Myrtle Beach, SC. Georgetown, SC: Clemson University, Belle W. Baruch Forest Science Institute: 73-80. [14812]

23. Lawson, Edwin R. 1990. Pinus echinata Mill. shortleaf pine. In: Burns, Russell M.; Honkala, Barbara H., technical coordinators. Silvics of North America. Volume 1. Conifers. Agric. Handb. 654. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: 316-326. [13394]

24. Little, Elbert L., Jr. 1979. Checklist of United States trees (native and naturalized). Agric. Handb. 541. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 375 p. [2952]

25. Lyon, L. Jack; Stickney, Peter F. 1976. Early vegetal succession following large northern Rocky Mountain wildfires. In: Proceedings, Tall Timbers fire ecology conference and Intermountain Fire Research Council fire and land management symposium; 1974 October 8-10; Missoula, MT. No. 14. Tallahassee, FL: Tall Timbers Research Station: 355-373. [1496]

26. McDonnell, Mark J. 1986. Old field vegetation height and the dispersal pattern of bird- disseminated woody plants. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club. 113(1): 6-11. [4563]

27. Miller, Karl V.; Miller, Susan K. 1989. Enhancing wildlife habitat on your land. I. Promoting natural forages. TOPS. Spring: 3, 9. [16783]

28. Murphy, Dean A. 1970. Deer range appraisal in the Midwest. In: White-tailed deer in the Midwest: Proceedings of a symposium, 30th Midwest fish and wildlife conference; 1968 December 9; Columbus, OH. Res. Pap. NC-39. St. Paul, MN: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, North Central Forest Experiment Station: 2-10. [13667]

29. Nixon, Charles M.; McClain, Milford W.; Russell, Kenneth R. 1970. Deer food habits and range characteristics in Ohio. Journal of Wildlife Management. 34(4): 870-886. [16398]

30. Pavlovic, Noel B.; White, Mark. 1989. Forest restoration of Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial: presettlement, existing vegetation, and restoration management recommendations. Research/Resources Management Report MWR-15. Omaha, NE: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Midwest Region. 106 p. [15375]

31. Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p. [2843]

32. Sasek, Thomas W.; Strain, Boyd R. 1991. Effects of CO2 enrichment on the growth and morphology of a native and introduced honeysuckle vine. American Journal of Botany. 78(1): 69-75. [10101]

33. Schmeckpeper, E.J.; Lea, R.; Phillips, D.; Jervis, L. 1987. Piedmont bottomland hardwood regeneration responds to preharvest Japanese honeysuckle control. In: Phillips, Douglas R., compiler. Proceedings, 4th biennial southern silvicultural research conference; 1986 November 4-6; Atlanta, GA. Gen. Tech. Rep. SE-42 x. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southeastern Forest Experiment Station: 492-596. [4205]

34. Shipman, R. D. 1962. Establishing forest plantations on areas occupied by kudzu and honeysuckle. Forest Research Series No. 5. Clemson, SC: South Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station. 21 p. [17801]

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38. Vogel, Willis G. 1981. A guide for revegetating coal minespoils in the eastern United States. Gen. Tech. Rep. NE-68. Broomall, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station. 190 p. [15577]

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Related categories for Species: Lonicera japonica | Japanese Honeysuckle