There is no reason to stop and smell this honeysuckle.
No matter how deeply you inhale, coral honeysuckle will not give up the fragrance usually associated with this supposedly scented species. The poets may have to rethink their prose as there will be no scent on the wind or aroma wafting through the window.
But before you complain about this perfume-less climber, let’s consider its other qualities. Also known as trumpet and scarlet honeysuckle and woodbine, Lonicera sempervirens has some awesome assets.
Pollinators are big fans. Long-tongued bees, hummingbirds, bumble bees, butterflies and other winged wonders will happily sip from its long tubular flowers. Caterpillars of the spring azure butterfly and snowberry clearwing moth use coral honeysuckle as a larval host plant.
Don’t count out the birds either. Robins, quail, finches and thrushes will consume this honeysuckle’s ruby red berries. Deer and rabbits, to many of our delights, are not interested in browsing on this plant.
Most of us know the two most common honeysuckle species on-Island are nonnative, invasive species not to be applauded. Coral honeysuckle is native to the southeast United States, but some sources maintain that it can be found in the wild as far north as Maine, a state which lists this plant as endangered. Other reputable plant organizations suggest that those coral honeysuckle plants found in the wild are garden escapees. All note that this variety is not invasive, regardless of its wild or domestic status.
Coral honeysuckle gets many honors from other sources, even if its origin is argued. It was named Wildflower of the Year in 2014 by the Virginia Native Plant Society, and that was followed up with a win as the Plant of Year from the Georgia Native Plant Society in 2019.
Apart from these modern accolades, traditional medicinal uses have been ascribed. A dried and smoked concoction was believed to treat asthma, sore throat and coughs. Chewing the leaves and applying the masticated mass was suggested to treat bee stings, and eating the berries can induce vomiting.
Beautiful clusters of flowers produced through summer are usually red or orange, but a cultivar named after colonial botanist John Clayton produces yellow blooms. The opposite leaves are of great interest, being of variable shapes on the vine. One telling type of leaf appears as “perfoliate” — which describes a growth form where the leaf blade surrounds the stem, so it looks like the stem comes through the center of the leaf.
Sir Walter Scott, Scottish novelist, playwright, poet and historian, explained that this vine “loved to crawl, ip the low crag and ruin’d wall.”
While a climb up the wall is okay, contemporary homeowners are advised not to plant this creeper near the home as it is highly flammable. Better to place along a fence, in the garden, on a trellis, arbor or pergola where it can climb to its heart’s delight and keep your home safe.
Knowing what I know about the more common and problematic honeysuckles, it is surprising that I would even consider positive prose for this flora. However, this variety has shown its sweet side — Shakespeare likened its twining to that of lovers, in A Midsummer Night’s Dream:
Titania: Sleep thou, and I will wind thee in my arms.
Fairies, be gone, and be all ways away. [Fairies depart]
So doth the woodbine the sweet honeysuckle
Gently entwist; the female ivy so
Enrings the barky fingers of the elm.
O, how I love thee! How I dote on thee!
Suzan Bellincampi is director of the Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary in Edgartown, and author of Martha’s Vineyard: A Field Guide to Island Nature and The Nature of Martha’s Vineyard.
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