Lonicera ciliosa
| Lonicera ciliosa | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 5 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Evergreen | |
| Height: | 33' |
| Speed: | Moderate |
| Blooms: | Early Summer |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Lonicera ciliosa (common name: orange 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 loamy soil and cool moist conditions at the roots[4][3]. Succeeds in partial shade[3].
Subject to attacks by aphis, especially in hot dry spells[4].
Climbs by twining around other plants[5].
Range: Western N. America - British Columbia to N. Carolina.
Habitat: Woods and thickets from sea level to moderate elevations[6].
Edibility: Fruit - raw or cooked[7][8][9]. Not tasty enough to be widely sought[9]. The fruit is about 5mm in diameter[3].
Children enjoy sucking the nectar from the base of the flowers[10][11].
Medicinal: The leaves are contraceptive and tonic[11]. An infusion has been used as a contraceptive and also as a treatment for problems in the womb[11]. A decoction has been used in the treatment of colds and tuberculosis[11]. A poultice of the chewed leaves has been applied to bruises[11].
An infusion of the woody part of the plant has been drunk in small amounts, or used as a bath, in the treatment of epilepsy[11].
Usage: An infusion of the stems is used as a hair shampoo and tonic to make it grow[12][11].
A fibre obtained from the stem is used in making mats, bags, blankets etc[12].
The stems were used as building materials by the native North American Indians. They were used with willow withes to reinforce suspension bridges across canyons and rivers. They were also twisted with coyote willow to lash together the framing poles of underground pit houses and to make a pliable ladder[11].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
In Leaf: Evergreen
Seed Ripens: Late Summer
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Also Known As: L. ciliosa occidentalis. L. occidentalis. Caprifolium ciliosum. C. occidentale.
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 3.2 3.3 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ Thomas, Graham. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray, 1992.
- ↑ Hitchcock, Leo. Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press, 1955.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Davis, Ray and Frank Craighead. A Field Guide to Rocky Mountain Wildflowers. The Riverside Press, 1963.
- ↑ Turner, Nancy. Food Plants of Coastal First Peoples. UBC Press Vancouver, 1995.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 11.7 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Turner, Nancy. Plants in British Columbian Indian Technology. British Columbia Provincial Museum, 1979.