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Lonicera xylosteum L.

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Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Lonicera xylosteum' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/lonicera/lonicera-xylosteum/). Accessed 2026-05-15.

Family

  • Caprifoliaceae

Genus

Common Names

  • Fly Honeysuckle

Glossary

corolla
The inner whorl of the perianth. Composed of free or united petals often showy.
apex
(pl. apices) Tip. apical At the apex.
glandular
Bearing glands.
ovary
Lowest part of the carpel containing the ovules; later developing into the fruit.

References

There are no active references in this article.

Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Lonicera xylosteum' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/lonicera/lonicera-xylosteum/). Accessed 2026-05-15.

Lonicera xylosteum

Lonicera xylosteum can be found in parts of south-east England, where it may be a true native honeysuckle. Here cultivated in a private garden in Dallet, France. 16 April 2017. Image Guillaume Mamdy.

A deciduous shrub up to 10 ft high, more in diameter, very bushy; branchlets hollow; young shoots downy. Leaves oval or obovate, rounded or broadly tapered at the base, mostly with a short abrupt apex, 11⁄4 to 21⁄2 in. long, half or more than half as wide, downy on both surfaces; stalk 1⁄4 in. long, downy. Flowers not scented, yellowish white, tinged sometimes with red, produced in pairs on downy stalks up to 5⁄8 in. long. Corolla very downy, conspicuously two-lipped, 5⁄8 in. across, the tube short and bellied; ovary glandular. Fruits red, often showy in August.

Native of Europe, Asia Minor, and W. Siberia, found wild in parts of S.E. England, where it may be a true native.

Lonicera xylosteum

The yellowish white flowers of Lonicera xylosteum are produced in pairs. Private garden in Dallet, France. 16 April 2017. Image Guillaume Mamdy.

Lonicera xylosteum

Leaves of Lonicera xylosteum are downy on both surfaces. Private garden in Dallet, France. 16 April 2017. Image Guillaume Mamdy.

Lonicera xylosteum

Lonicera xylosteum in fruit (Clapham, North Yorkshire, 30 July 2025). Image John Grimshaw.

'Clavey's Dwarf'

Of dense, low habit. Raised in the USA.

f. lutea (Veillard) Rehd

Fruits yellow. There are numerous other varieties varying in the degree of pubescence on the plant, etc., which need not be described further.

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