Honeysuckle Vines With Berries Identification

Both the vines and shrubs in the honeysuckle, or Lonicera, genus are considered invasive plants.

Many different plant species belong to the Lonicera genus or honeysuckle group. You can identify honeysuckle species by their growth habits, berries, leaves and flowers. Many honeysuckle vines are considered invasive plant species.

Types

Most honeysuckle species grow in a shrub-like form and are called "bush honeysuckle." The most common honeysuckle vine species is Lonicera japonica, or the Japanese honeysuckle. The Japanese honeysuckle vine is one of several Asian honeysuckle species that has become invasive in the United States. The vine climbs along the ground and up trees, sometimes girdling and killing other landscape plants, shrubs and trees.

Identification

The honeysuckle vine sprawls along the ground or climbs on other plants and structures. The flowers are fragrant and range in color from white to yellow to pink. The honeysuckle vine's leaves are arranged opposite each other along the stems and are semi-evergreen. The leaves can range in shape and may have hairs on their surfaces. The Japanese honeysuckle has 1/5- to 1/2-inch-diameter berries that are black in color and remain on the vines through winter.

Considerations

Aside from the growth form, you can distinguish between the Japanese honeysuckle vine and bush honeysuckles by their berries. Unlike the honeysuckle vine's black berries, bush honeysuckles produce berries that are yellow, orange or red. Bush honeysuckle flowers are pink or white, but not yellow. Like the honeysuckle vine, bush honeysuckles are also considered invasive in the United States.

References

• University of Maine Cooperative Extension: Shrubby Honeysuckles
• Virginia Cooperative Extension: Honeysuckle (Lonicera spp.)

Resources

• University of Missouri Extension: Vine Weeds of Missouri