Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), is a species of creeper plant belonging to the Caprifoliaceae family. It is also commonly known as Japanese honeysuckle and sweet honeysuckle. It is the most widely cultivated species of honeysuckle because it is used very often to cover walls or fences..
Honeysuckle is a plant that looks like a deciduous shrub, but grows like a vine. Depending on where it is found, it can behave as a perennial or semi-deciduous. It has very showy and fragrant white flowers, as well as its fruits also produce a pleasant fragrance..
Lonicera japonica it is just one of the known honeysuckle plants. These include forest honeysuckle, garden honeysuckle, trumpet honeysuckle, leaf honeysuckle, Mediterranean honeysuckle, and blue honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymemum, Lonicera caprifolia, Lonicera sempervirens, Lonicera nítida, Lonicera implexa, Lonicera caerulea, respectively).
Lonicera japonica It is used to treat diseases such as severe respiratory syndromes and the H1N1 flu. On the other hand, this plant is also used as a beneficial food and tea all over the world, thus it has a high commercial value..
In China this species is known as Jinyinhua, and in that country it has been used as an important medicinal plant for many years..
In addition, it is used as a very effective plant cover to cover unsightly places. It is a plant that grows very vigorously after pruning.
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It is a deciduous shrub, but it can maintain its foliage during winter when temperatures are not so low..
The stem is reddish or light brown in color, pubescent, and about 3 mm thick. In contrast, the old stems are devoid of pubescence, are hollow, their bark is brown and can be detached in strips.
It has a fast and vigorous growth, since in just one year it can be several meters long. It can reach about 10 m in height, although the woody stems are about 2 or 3 m long.
This plant looks like a vine since, due to the branching of the stem, it forms a dense thicket, with ganglionic rooting and extension of its rhizomes..
The leaves of the honeysuckle are opposite, elliptical or ovate when young, broad and with a sharp apex. They are between 4 and 8 cm long, have a short petiole and may or may not present pubescence..
In places closer to the north, these leaves behave like semi-perennials and fall to the ground when it is winter. In contrast, in places closer to the south, the leaves are evergreen.
The tubular flowers sprout in clusters from mid-spring to mid-summer. These bunches last a long time and are very colorful, they also have a pleasant aroma.
In contrast to other indigenous climbing species, Lonicera japonica It presents the flowers in pairs and supported by axillary peduncles 5 to 10 mm long which are supported by leaf-shaped bracts, and not in whorls as in other plants.
The flowers are white, but as they mature they turn yellow. The tubular flowers have a corolla fused with two lips 3 or 4 cm long which present pubescence on the outside..
The fruit is a type of oval berry that turns red when ripe. Each fruit contains 2 to 3 ovate-oblong seeds, which are up to 3 mm long, are brown or black, have striations on one side and are flat or concave on the other side..
This plant grows naturally at the foot of mountains, on dikes, and occupies a range between 50 to 600 meters above sea level. It is not demanding with respect to soil conditions, but grows best in those with a good content of organic matter.
This honeysuckle is a plant that can be considered a weed in some places. It can be adapted to grow in bushes, banks, man-made environments, etc..
Lonicera japonica it is a species that can invade fields, floodplains, forest edges. Especially in eastern North America, this plant spreads rapidly and outperforms native vegetation both above vegetation and below ground thanks to being a highly competitive species..
In this way, once this creeper plant establishes itself on other species, it can damage small trees and collapse shrubs due to the weight they exert on them. In addition, its extension inhibits the growth of other plant species under it.
The establishment of this plant is difficult to control because, when it is small, it can go unnoticed in a field and be confused with other species. Then, once they grow, even eliminating all its aerial parts, this plant will grow again thanks to its rhizomes.
It is widely cultivated in East Asia, although in many countries of the world as well. Specifically it can be found in China, Taiwan, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, England, France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Croatia, Greece, Portugal, Algeria, Russia, Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua, Honduras, Venezuela, Australia, Australia, Philippines, Peru, Jamaica, Ecuador, Uruguay, Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, New Zealand, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Martinique, Cuba, Colombia, South Africa, Ethiopia, Turkey, Nepal, India , Pakistan, Vietnam, United States, Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, among others.
-Kingdom: Plantae
-Phylum: Tracheophyta
-Class: Magnoliopsida
-Order: Dipsacales
-Family: Caprifoliaceae
-Gender: Lonicera
-Species: Lonicera japonica
Honeysuckle Lonicera japonica has several synonyms like Caprifolium brachypodum, Caprifolium flexuosum, Caprifolium japonicum, Caprifolium roseum, Lonicera brachypoda, Lonicera brachypoda var. repens, Lonicera cochinchinensis, Lonicera confusa, Lonciera diversifolia, Lonicera fauriei, Lonicera finlaysoniana, Lonicera flexuosa, Lonicera japonica var. brachypoda, Lonicera japonica var. flexuosa, Lonicera japonica var. hallinna, Lonicera japonica var. repens, Lonicera japonica var. sempervillosa, Lonicera longiflora, Lonicera nigra, Lonicera repens, Lonicera shintenensis, Nintooa japonica, Xylosteon flexuosum.
The native honeysuckle varieties can be distinguished by their upper leaves and berries. The upper leaves of Lonicera japonica shows its separate pairs, while native varieties show their pairs fused to form a single leaf.
In addition, Lonicera japonica produces black berries, but native varieties form red or orange berries.
In some places the leaves of this honeysuckle can be consumed as a vegetable, and in addition, the leaves together with the flower buds can be used to prepare tea.
Although it is a plant pollinated by insects, pollen can sometimes be dispersed through the wind. This can cause certain allergies or respiratory problems in people.
Plant parts such as the stem, flower and fruit of the Japanese honeysuckle have been used medicinally, for example to treat fever, hepatitis, and as an anti-inflammatory. However, it is not considered to use any part of the plant for consumption since several structures have a slight toxicity.
On the other hand, the effects of honeysuckle are also known as an antidote, diuretic and tonic..
The anti-inflammatory and analgesic activity has been demonstrated in experiments where it has been possible to isolate some of the active components of this plant, being such that honeysuckle is recommended as a raw material to manufacture injectable analgesics and as a useful species in the field of herbal medicine..
However, it should be taken into account that not all plant compounds are beneficial, since some such as saponins and tannins can produce hemolysis and precipitation of proteins. Therefore, a drug must be formulated where these compounds are not present and thus guarantee a reliable injectable formulation..
Some of the studies carried out have been done on inflammation induced in mice (writhing, hyperalgesia, edema) by means of arachidonic acid, acetic acid and carrageenan..
On such inflammations, the analgesic effect of saponin and tannin-free honeysuckle extract is comparable to certain doses of diclofenac and acetaminophen (100 mg / kg).
Several studies have been carried out in order to define the medicinal properties of Lonicera japonica. Among them, the antimicrobial properties of this plant have been determined, in order to use it as a natural preservative.
Indeed, studies show that the 50% ethanol extract of this honeysuckle generates antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus Y Pseudomonas aeruginosa, This antimicrobial effect can be attributed to the presence of caffeic acid, which has high polarity and alone inhibits these same strains..
In contrast, extraction with ethyl acetate produces antimicrobial activity against six strains (Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans Y Aspergillus brasiliensis).
Regarding this case, the antimicrobial effect is related to the presence of luteolin, a non-polar component that produces inhibition against the mentioned bacteria..
This species can be propagated by seeds, underground rhizomes or by air corridors.
According to their sexual propagation, the seeds must undergo stratification for about 2 or 3 months at about 4 ° C. The seeds are sown in early spring.
After initial growth, plants should be separated into small pots until they are large enough to be transplanted outdoors..
As for its asexual propagation, honeysuckle can multiply by wooden stakes. If the wood is hard it is recommended to propagate it during the spring, while if the wood is soft it can be propagated in the summer.
Another recommended way for its propagation is by layering, since the guides easily develop roots as soon as they make contact with the earth..
This plant is not demanding regarding the type of soil, however, it develops much better in those that contain organic matter and have good drainage..
This species can grow both in a sunny place and in a place where it gives shade..
This plant grows between 10 ° C and 25 ° C.
Honeysuckle is a drought-resistant plant, therefore its watering regimen is not very demanding. It is necessary to wait for the soil to dry out between each watering, as a high moisture content could stimulate the development of fungal diseases..
Honeysuckle is a climbing plant, resistant to pruning, but this does not mean that it should be done very frequently. In fact, it is recommended to prune it vigorously every 3 or 4 years as a kind of rejuvenation without depopulating on the inside..
On the other hand, pruning is also carried out after flowering, the outer foliage is removed so that the inner foliage does not die, and in this way stimulates the growth of new stems..
If pruning is carried out at another time and not after flowering, a very lush plant will be created with a disorderly and drained growth..
With regard to nutrients, this plant does well with a basic fertilization such as that given to garden plants during their maintenance, or simply fertilizing it with organic matter such as compost, humus or manure during the fall is sufficient..
This disease is caused by a fungus (Glomerularia lonicerae) during rainy seasons, both in this species and in others. It is recommended to prevent this disease with the use of fungicides based on zineb and copper oxychloride..
This infection is usually caused by fungi of the genera Marssonina, Cercospora, Septoria, among others.
This infection does not significantly affect the viability of the plant, but it is recommended to avoid a strong attack with the use of preventive fungicides.
It is a disease caused by the phytopathogen Erysiphe, which covers both tender shoots and leaves of honeysuckle in general, and produces a white mycelium. The recommended fungicide is sulfur.
Other diseases attack Lonicera japonica such as rust, which is produced by Puccinia spp., wilting of branches caused by Phoma sp., and bacteria like Agrobacterium tumefaciens they can also cause damage to this species.
Now, not only diseases can attack honeysuckle, but it can also be affected by pests such as mealybugs, aphids, or the cigarette caterpillar (Cacoecia rosana).
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