Lonicera caprifolium
| Lonicera caprifolium | |
| Light: |    |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 5 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 20' |
| Width: | 20' |
| Speed: | Moderate |
| Blooms: | Late Summer-Early Fall |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Lonicera caprifolium (common name: italian honeysuckle)
Propagation: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. Stored seed requires 2 months cold stratification[1] and should be sown as soon as possible in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 7 - 10cm with or without a heel, July/August in a frame. Good percentage[2].
Cuttings of mature wood of the current season's growth, 15 - 20cm with or without a heel, November in a cold frame. Good percentage[2].
Layering in autumn[3].
Cultivation: Prefers a good moist soil with its roots in the shade and its top growing into the light[3]. Succeeds even in quite deep shade[4]. Tolerates both acid and alkaline soils, only showing distress on very alkaline soils[5].
Plants are hardy to about -15°c[5].
Plants are moderately fast-growing[5]. They climb by twining around other plants[6].
The flowers are very fragrant, especially of a night time in order to attract pollinating moths, and are produced in abundance[5][4][7], but plants only produce fruit after a hot summer[5].
Plants are prone to attacks by mildew and blackfly[5].
Range: Europe - Austria and Czechoslovakia to Romania and Turkey. Introduced in Britain.
Habitat: Hedges, scrub and woods[8].
Edibility: The fruit is eaten in small quantities[9]. It is probably cooked first[K].
An infusion of the heavily perfumed flowers is used as a tea substitute[10].
Medicinal: The fruit is emetic and cathartic[11]. The pressed juice makes a mild purgative[10][12].
The leaves and flowers are antispasmodic, emollient and expectorant[10]. They are used as a cutaneous and mucous tonic and as a vulnerary[11]. Recent research has shown that the plant has an outstanding curative action in cases of colitis[10].
The seed is diuretic[11].
The plant is used in Bach flower remedies - the keywords for prescribing it are 'Dwelling upon thoughts of the past', 'Nostalgia' and 'Homesickness'[13].
Usage: An essential oil has been extracted from the flowers and used to make a very sweet perfume, but yields are extremely low[10].
Pollinators: Lepidoptera
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Seed Ripens: Mid Fall-Late Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ Dirr, Michael and Charles Heuser. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press, 1987.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Sheat, Wilfrid. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. St Martin, 1948.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Grey-Wilson, Christopher and Victoria Matthews. Gardening on Walls. Collins, 1983.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Davis, Brian. Climbers and Wall Shrubs. Viking, 1990.
- ↑ Thomas, Graham. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray, 1992.
- ↑ Genders, Roy. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale, 1994.
- ↑ Polunin, Oleg. Flowers of Europe. Oxford University Press, 1969.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 Chiej, Roberto. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald, 1984.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ Chancellor, Philip. Illustrated Handbook of the Bach Flower Remedies. C W Daniel, 1985.