# Skaneateles Conservation Area/Invasive species/Lonicera

<< Prohibited invasive plants at the SCA

## Lonicera spp. (non-native bush honeysuckles)

The Eurasian bush honeysuckle species most likely to be present at the SCA (in approximate order of likelihood) are:
* Lonicera morrowii (Morrow’s honeysuckle),
* Lonicera × bella [L. morrowii × tatarica] (Bell’s honeysuckle),
* Lonicera tatarica (Tartarian honeysuckle), and
* Lonicera maackii (Amur honeysuckle)
These exotic honeysuckles are all similar in appearance and invasive characteristics and displace valuable natives.
All four of these taxa are grouped in what is now called Lonicera subg. Lonicera sect. Lonicera (syn. sect. Coeloxylosteum sensu Rehder).
Section Lonicera is characterized by flowers with a two-lipped corolla and hollow branches.
This section also contains native "fly honeysuckles," of which Lonicera canadensis (American fly-honeysuckle) is known to be present at the SCA.
* ↑ Invasive honeysuckle (Lonicera spp.) Honeysuckle spp. New York Invasive Species Information 2021.
* ↑ Masayoshi Nakaji, et al. (2015). "A Molecular Phylogenetic Study of Lonicera L. (Caprifoliaceae) in Japan Based on Chloroplast DNA Sequences." Acta Phytotax. Geobot. 66(3): 137–151 Because this section contains L. xylosteum, the type species of genus Lonicera, this section should be named Lonicera as autonym.
* ↑ Nina Theis, Michael J. Donoghue,and Jianhua Li (2008) "Phylogenetics of the Caprifolieae and Lonicera (Dipsacales) Based on Nuclear and Chloroplast DNA Sequences." Systematic Botany 33(4): pp. 776–783
* ↑ Flora of New York/Dipsacales. (2021, July 5). Wikibooks, The Free Textbook Project. Retrieved 22:54, July 7, 2021.

### Description

All of the above honeysuckles are upright deciduous shrubs with long arching branches, and commonly reach 5 to 20 feet tall. They are all in the Lonicera section Lonicera and produce abundant red to orange-yellow fruit.
| Species | Common name | Leaf texture | Leaf shape | Mature (2 yr) stem pith | Fruit shape | Fruit color | Corolla | Style | Peduncle length | Nativity |
| Lonicera morrowii | Morrow's honeysuckle | densely hairy (top and bottom) | oblong elliptic | hollow, darker | round in pairs | yellow, orange, or red | lobed nearly to base zygomorphic 10-22 mm long | pubescent | ≤ 15 mm | non-native (invasive) |
| Lonicera × bella  [L. morrowii × tatarica] | Bell’s honeysuckle | densely hairy below, sparsely hairy above | | hollow, darker | round in pairs | yellow, orange, or red | lobed nearly to base zygomorphic 10-22 mm long | pubescent | 5 - 15 mm | non-native (invasive) |
| Lonicera tatarica | Tartarian honeysuckle | smooth, hairless | oblong ovate | hollow, darker | round in pairs | yellow, orange, or red | lobed nearly to base zygomorphic 10-22 mm long | pubescent | | non-native (invasive) |
| Lonicera maackii | Amur honeysuckle | | abruptly acuminate | hollow, darker | round in pairs | yellow, orange, or red | bilabiate zygomorphic 10-22 mm long | pubescent | < 5 mm | non-native (invasive) |
| Lonicera canadensis | American fly honeysuckle | | | solid white not hollow | round in pairs | bright red | ± actinomorphic 10-22 mm long short spur at the base | glabrous | | native |
Note: The native Lonicera canadensis (American fly honeysuckle) is also present at the SCA and looks superficially similar to the exotic bush honeysuckles, so care must be taken before removing any plant. A simple but not definitive way to tell the difference is that the European honeysuckles may have hollow or dark piths, while native honeysuckles have solid white pith.
Eurasian bush honeysuckles are some of the first shrubs to leaf out in the spring, which allows them to shade native plants and encourages birds to nest earlier and lower to the ground, where they are more vulnerable to predators.
Second to European buckthorn, Eurasian bush honeysuckles, are probably the dominant shrub seen on most of the SCA.
In fact the two shrubs (buckthorn and honeysuckle) are sometimes referred to collectively using the colloquial term "bucksuckle," which locally has broadened to refer collectively to all common invasive shrubs and even to be used as a verb indicating the removal of any such invasive plants.
* ↑ Flora of New York/Dipsacales (2021) "Lonicera sect. Lonicera." Wikibooks, The Free Textbook Project.
* ↑ Non-native bush honeysuckles, 2021 Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
* ↑ Michael Hough (2019). "Caprifoliaceae," Flora of Cortland and Onondaga Couies, New York, pp. 390-391
* ↑ Glenda Berman Master Gardener Volunteer Cornell Cooperative Extension of Columbia and Greene Counties, April 2020 "Invasive honeysuckle (Lonicera spp.)"
* ↑ Lonicera spp. (honeysuckles) iNaturalist observations at the Skaneateles Conservation Area (includes both native and introduced Loniceras)
* ↑ Michael Madritch & Richard Lindroth (2009). Removal of invasive shrubs reduces exotic earthworm populations. Biological Invasions.
* ↑ Jason and Roy Van Driesche (2000). Nature Out of Place: Biological Invasions in the Global Age. Island Press.

## Invasiveness ranking of Lonicera × bella complex

The 2008 relative maximum invasiveness score for the complex containing Lonicera morrowii, L. tatarica & L. × bella (exotic bush honeysuckles) was 85.54%.
All species of the Lonicera × bella complex are prohibited by New York State law.

### Ecological impact

Dense patches of Lonicera morrowii can cover 100% of an infested forest understory.
Forest regeneration following disturbance can be severely impeded by these species, which displace and suppress native species.
The L. × bella complex is an aggressive invader of lower elevation forests throughout the northeastern United States.
Red carotenoid pigment (rhodoxanthin) in the fruits of Lonicera morrowii were found to cause the terminal tail bands on cedar waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum) to change color from yellow to orange.

### Biological characteristics and dispersal ability

A high percentages of seeds of L. morrowii (78–97%) germinate, both under litter and beneath the soil surface.
Even though the fruit (as of introduced species in general) is of low quality, it is eaten and dispersed by both birds and mammals.

### Ecological amplitude and distribution

Exotic bush honeysuckle invades wetlands, including shrub swamps, forested wetlands, riparian zones, and ditches. It also invades upland grasslands, shrublands, forests, woodlands, and roadsides.
Dense patches often cover 100% of and area.
Studies are mixed on its ability to colonized well-forested areas. It's clear that it can co-dominate old fields and early-successional forest communities, but may decline as forests mature (if they are allowed to).

### Difficulty of control

Exotic bush honeysuckles are perennial shrubs that readily resprout from roots.
* 1 2 M.J. Jordan, G. Moore & T.W. Weldy (2008). Invasiveness ranking system for non-native plants of New York. Unpublished. The Nature Conservancy, Cold Spring Harbor, NY; Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn, NY; The Nature Conservancy, Albany, NY. Lonicera × bella complex assessed by Steve Clemants, Gerry Moore, August 13, 2008.
* ↑ New York Codes, Rules and Regulations, Title 6 Section 575.3 - Prohibited invasive species
* 1 2 John C. Hunter and Jennifer A. Mattice (2002). "The Spread of Woody Exotics into the Forests of a Northeastern Landscape, 1938-1999." The Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society, Jul. - Sep., 2002, Vol. 129, No. 3 (Jul. - Sep., 2002), pp. 220-227. Torrey Botanical Society.
* 1 2 M.S.Batcher & S.A.Stiles (2000). Element stewardship abstract for the bush honeysuckles. The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA.
* ↑ K.Woods (1993). "Effects of invasion by Lonicera tatarica L. on herbs and tree seedlings in four New England forests." American Midland Naturalist. 130(1): 62-74.
* 1 2 Mark C. Witmer (1996). "Consequences of an Alien Shrub on the Plumage Coloration and Ecology of Cedar Waxwings." The Auk, Volume 113, Issue 4, 1 October 1996, Pages 735–743.
* ↑ Siti N. Hidayati, Jerry M. Baskin & Carol C. Baskin (2000). "Dormancy-breaking and germination requirements of seeds of four Lonicera species (Caprifoliaceae) with underdeveloped spatulate embryos." Seed Science Research 10: 459-469.
* ↑ Douglas W. White and Edmund W. Stiles (1992). "Bird dispersal of fruits of species introduced into eastern North America." Canadian Journal of Botany. 70(8): 1689-1696.
* ↑ Richard S. Mitchell & Gordon C. Tucker. (1994) "Flora of an Unusually Diverse Virgin and Old-Growth Forest Area in the Southern Adirondacks of New York." Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club, 121(1): 76–83.

## Observations of Lonicera × bella complex at the SCA

The following photographs and corresponding iNaturalist observations of Lonicera were made at or very near the Skaneateles Conservation Area. Click on images to enlarge and read details on Wikimedia Commons or on the "iNat obs" links to view the corresponding observations at iNaturalist.
* Lonicera × bella complex, Federal Farm near landfill, 5 May 2012. iNat obs
* Lonicera × bella complex, Federal Farm near fishing pond, 14 May 2012. iNat obs
* Lonicera × bella complex, Federal Farm near the observation platform, 19 May 2015. iNat obs
* Lonicera × bella complex, Federal Farm old field behind transfer station, 25 May 2015. iNat obs