BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Rhododendron periclymenoides | Wild Honeysuckle 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Wild honeysuckle is a low, erect, deciduous, stoloniferous shrub which
grows to 6.0 feet (2.0 m) in height.  It has open branches, sparse
foliage, and forms dense thickets.  The leaves are simple, alternate,
and mostly in clusters at the tips of the branches.  The tubular,
individual flowers are borne in small terminal clusters.  The fruit is a
many-seeded, woody capsule [1,2,20].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Phanerophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Wild honeysuckle can reproduce by seed, although details have not been
described.  It can also regenerate by layering, sprouting from the root
crown, or by sending out horizontal stems that root at the nodes
[3,9,20].  Wild honeysuckle seed are probably dispersed by small birds
and mammals.


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Wild honeysuckle commonly occurs in mixed deciduous forests along
stream bottoms, bogs, shaded mountain sides, and ravines [1].  Wild
honeysuckle flourishes on well-drained acid soils in cool, moist
locations [2,9,17].  Some common tree associates of wild honeysuckle are
eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), pitch pine (Pinus rigida), blackgum
(Nyssa sylvatica), ironwood (Ostrya virginiana), oak (Quercus spp.),
and birch (Betula spp.).  Some common understory associates include
rosebay rhododendron (Rhododendron maximum), flowering dogwood (Cornus
florida), mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia), highbush blueberry
(Vaccinium corymbosum), and maple-leaved viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium)
[7,8,15].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Obligate Climax Species

Wild honeysuckle is very shade tolerant [12].  Lipscombe [13] reports
that wild honeysuckle produces a majority of its growth after canopy
closure.


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Wild honeysuckle flowering dates are from March to May.  The fruit
ripens late in the summer and the seed is dispersed in the late fall
[16].

Related categories for Species: Rhododendron periclymenoides | Wild Honeysuckle