Notice

Colin Mills, compiler of the Hortus Camdenensis, died in late November 2012 after a short illness. As he always considered the Hortus his legacy, it is his family's intention to keep the site running in perpetuity. It will not, however, be updated in the near future.

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

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