Perennial herb Native to E. Asia - China, Japan, Korea, now naturalized in Britain and the US from southern New York and New Jersey south to southern Florida and west to southwestern Texas. Inland it is distributed from Pennsylvania and West Virginia west to Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Widespread in the eastern and southern United States.
Japanese honeysuckle is an important white-tailed deer food and is often invasive.
Prune back hard in winter to prevent the build-up of woody growth, provide a trellis. Climbing Vine, Shrub, it has a dense root system that may extend laterally for a distance of 7 to 10 feet, and attain depths of 3 to 4 feet. The extremely fragrant, two-lipped flowers are borne in pairs in the axils of young branches and are produced throughout the summer. Flowers range from 1 to 2 inches in length and are white with a slight purple or pink tinge when young, changing to white or yellow with age, they are edible. The fruit is a black, berrylike drupe with three to five one-seeded stones.