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].

Related categories for Species: Lonicera japonica | Japanese Honeysuckle