Lonicera japonica Thunb.

Fully hardy, vigorous, woody, evergreen or semi-evergreen, twining climber with paired, ovate, sometimes lobed leaves, to 8cm long, and axillary pairs of tubular, very fragrant, often purple-flushed, white flowers, to 4cm long, ageing to yellow, throughout the summer, followed by blue-black berries.  To 10m.  [RHSE, Hortus, Hilliers’].

Horticultural & Botanical History

‘Being a native of China, it was at first treated as an inmate of the greenhouse or conservatory, but it now proves to be perfectly hardy, and I have scarcely witnessed a more beautiful sight than a plant of this honeysuckle, trained against the wall of Mr. Curtis’s house at his extensive Nursery at Glazenwood, with its long pendant shoots and its copious flowers, appearing through a great part of the summer and autumn and scenting the air with its fragrance.’  [BM t.3316/1834].  Introduced to Britain in 1806 by the East India Company.  [BR f.70/1815].  ABR pl.583/1809.

History at Camden Park

Listed in all published catalogues [T.647/1843].

Notes

Lonicera japonica Andr. (c.1800) = Lonicera confusa DC.

Lonicera japonica Wall. (1824) = Lonicera macrantha Spreng.

Published Jul 08, 2009 - 04:15 PM | Last updated Jul 16, 2010 - 01:59 PM


Figured are ovate leaves and axillary pairs of tubular, red-flushed, white flowers.  Curtis's Botanical Magazine t.3316, 1834.

Lonicera japonica Thunb. | BM t.3316/1834 | BHL

More details about Lonicera japonica Thunb.
Family Caprifoliaceae
Category
Region of origin

Eastern Asia

Synonyms
  • Lonicera chinensis Wats.
  • Caprifolium japonicum Kuntze
Common Name

Japanese honeysuckle, Gold and silver flower, Kin-gin-qua

Name in the Camden Park Record

Lonicera Japonica - Japan Honeysuckle 

Confidence level high