Lonicera hispidula
Encyclopedia
The perennial vine Lonicera hispidula is a species of honeysuckle
known as pink honeysuckle and, less often, California honeysuckle. It is a low-elevation woodlands shrub
—vine
found on the West Coast of the United States
.
Subspecies
There are two subspecies:
as smoking pipes.
Lonicera hispidula is cultivated by specialty native plant
plant nurseries as an ornamental plant
for drought-tolerant wildlife gardens and natural landscaping
in California. The flowers attract hummingbird
s, other birds eat the fruits.
Honeysuckle
Honeysuckles are arching shrubs or twining vines in the family Caprifoliaceae, native to the Northern Hemisphere. There are about 180 species of honeysuckle, 100 of which occur in China; Europe, India and North America have only about 20 native species each...
known as pink honeysuckle and, less often, California honeysuckle. It is a low-elevation woodlands shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
—vine
Vine
A vine in the narrowest sense is the grapevine , but more generally it can refer to any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent, that is to say climbing, stems or runners...
found on the West Coast of the United States
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
.
Description
Lonicera hispidula has distinctive leaves growing opposite on the stems, the uppermost pairs fused at the bases to surround the stem. At the end of the stem grow attractive pink honeysuckle blossoms. It bears spherical red fruits which are edible but bitter.Subspecies
There are two subspecies:
- Lonicera hispidula hispidula
- Lonicera hispidula vacillans.
Uses
The stems are hollow and sturdy and were used by the Pomo peoplePomo people
The Pomo people are an indigenous peoples of California. The historic Pomo territory in northern California was large, bordered by the Pacific Coast to the west, extending inland to Clear Lake, and mainly between Cleone and Duncans Point...
as smoking pipes.
Lonicera hispidula is cultivated by specialty native plant
Native plant
Native plant is a term to describe plants endemic or naturalized to a given area in geologic time.This includes plants that have developed, occur naturally, or existed for many years in an area...
plant nurseries as an ornamental plant
Ornamental plant
Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...
for drought-tolerant wildlife gardens and natural landscaping
Natural landscaping
.Natural landscaping, also called native gardening, is the use of native plants, including trees, shrubs, groundcover, and grasses which are indigenous to the geographic area of the garden.-Maintenance:...
in California. The flowers attract hummingbird
Hummingbird
Hummingbirds are birds that comprise the family Trochilidae. They are among the smallest of birds, most species measuring in the 7.5–13 cm range. Indeed, the smallest extant bird species is a hummingbird, the 5-cm Bee Hummingbird. They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings...
s, other birds eat the fruits.