356 WOODY PLANTS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 



XVIII. 3. THE HONEYSUCKLE. LONICERA. L. 



A genus of climbing or erect shrubs with opposite branches, 

 and leaves entire, opposite, and often growing together at base. 

 The flowers, which are often fragrant, are in sessile whorls or 

 heads, or on footstalks, in the axils of the leaves. The species 

 are divided by De Candolle into two sections. 



The first section embraces climbing plants with sessile flow- 

 ers in whorled clusters or heads, and with leaves often connate ; 

 the berries crowned with the persistent limb of the calyx, form- 

 ing the genus Caprifolium of Jussieu. 



Among these are the splendid Scarlet Honeysuckle or 

 Trumpet Honeysuckle, which has been very generally intro- 

 duced and found almost perfectly hardy, although it is a native 

 of the Southern States, and not found naturally growing north 

 of New York, and ten other species, according to Torrey and 

 Gray, natives of North America, of which the following belong 

 to Massachusetts. 



Sp. 1. The Hairy Honeysuckle. L. hirsuta. Eaton. 



A perfectly hardy, climbing plant, found on damp, rocky 

 banks, often growing to the height of fifteen or even thirty feet. 

 Recent shoots reddish green, somewhat downy, or often nearly 

 smooth. Branches reddish. Leaves on short, broad footstalks, 

 which, in the upper leaves, are winged, and embracing the stem. 

 The leaves are large, very broad-lanceolate or elliptic, or obovate, 

 the upper ones pointed, the lower entire, rounded, sometimes 

 rugose, from impressed veins above, ciliate on the reflexed mar- 

 gin, glaucous and soft, downy and hairy beneath. The upper 

 pair completely grow together at base, like the upper leaves in 

 other honeysuckles. They terminate in an abruptly prolonged 

 point, and are ciliate on the margin, and hairy on the mid-rib 

 beneath : but in surface and texture are so entirely unlike the 

 other leaves, that they are more properly considered as connate 

 bracts. The flowers are in single or triple terminal heads, 

 made of from one to three or more whorls, on short footstalks; 

 each whorl consists of about six sessile flowers. Calyx of five 



