LONICERA. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



LONICERA. 



669 



broad ovate leaves, pale green beneath, 

 and terminal clusters of flowers, bright 

 rich yellow fading to a deeper shade, and 

 delightfully fragrant. It grows most 

 luxuriantly in the more Southern States, 

 and hence is best when planted against a 

 sunny wall in this country. 



L. flexuosa. Out of flower this re- 

 sembles L. confusa, but the leaves, though 

 ovate and of a ruddy tinge, show no in- 

 clination to become pinnatifid or sinuated. 

 The flowers are tubular, reddish outside, 

 whitish inside, and fragrant. At midsum- 

 mer it produces quite a mass of sweet- 

 scented blossoms and continues for a long 

 time in bloom. 



L. grata (The American Woodbine). 

 This is a vigorous grower, having broad 

 glaucous leaves (almost evergreen). The 

 flowers are in clus- 

 ters, whitish, with a 

 purple tube fading 

 to a yellowish 

 shade, and fragrant. 

 It flowers in May, 

 and grows wild in 

 rocky woodlands in 

 the New England 

 States. 



L. japonica 

 {Japan Honey- 

 suckle], This is as 

 hardy as the com- 

 mon Honeysuckle, 

 and retains its foli- 

 age during winter. 



It may be distinguished from the other 

 two Japanese species by its slender 

 growth, deep green shining leaves, which 

 have a marked tendency to vary from the 

 normal ovate form to a pinnatifid or Oak- 

 leaved form, and this tendency is most 

 marked in the varieties named hetero- 

 phylla and diversifolia, though at all 

 seasons it is evident in the true plant. 

 The flowers of L. japonica are in pairs on 

 the tips of the young shoots, tubular, 

 slender, white tinged with red, and frag- 

 rant, from midsummer till the beginning 

 of autumn. Being hardy, there is no need 

 to protect by a wall, but it is generally 

 seen, especially the variegated form 

 aureo-reticulata* as a wall-covering. 

 Syns., Brachypoda, chinensis, aureo- 

 reticulata, and many others. 



L. Periclymenum (Honeysuckle: Wood- 

 bine}. A native of the middle of Europe 

 and northwards, and is a true native in 

 England, where it is generally seen in 

 hedgerows and thickets. Numerous varie- 

 ties of this species have sprung up either 

 wild or under cultivation. Some differ in 

 regard to colour of flowers, others in time 



Lonicera japonica. 



of flowering, and these are the most im- 

 portant. The wild form flowers about 

 midsummer, according to the season, but 

 the variety serotina continues to flower 

 till autumn, and is known as the Late 

 Dutch Honeysuckle, as its flowers are 

 decidedly redder than those of the type. 

 Another variety, belgica, is popularly 

 known as the Dutch Honeysuckle, as 

 distinguished from the Late Dutch, and it 

 is a stronger growing plant than the type. 

 Its branches are purplish and its flowers 

 are reddish outside, yellowish within. 



L. semperflorens is probably a variety 

 of Periclymenum, though Koch places it 

 as a variety of the allied species L. etrusca. 

 The Oak-leaved Honeysuckle (querci- 

 folid) is a variety of the common form, 

 having leaves sinuated like those of the 

 Oak. 



L. sempervirens C Trumpet Honey- 

 suckle) the most beautiful Honeysuckle 

 that has come to us from America, both 

 for the greenhouse and the open garden, 

 where it flou- 

 rishes well in 

 the southern 

 counties, and 

 none of the 

 H oneysuck les 

 have such bril- 

 liant flowers. 

 It is a robust- 

 growing clim- 

 ber, quite ever- 

 green when 

 protected. 

 From the be- 

 ginning ot 

 summer till the 

 end it bears 

 loose clusters 

 of long, tubular flowers, which are scarlet 

 outside, yellow within. It is best against 

 a warm wall in the cooler parts of the 

 country. There are several named varie- 

 ties of this plant but not very distinct. 

 W. G. 



L. fragrantissima (The Winter 

 Honeysuckle). Among the earliest of 

 all hardy shrubs whose flowers greet the 

 new year are this species and its close 

 ally, L. Standishi. Neither of them can 

 be called showy, yet they are both well 

 worth growing, because their flowers, 

 although small, are abundant, and have 

 besides a fine fragrance. L. fragrantis- 

 sima is one of Fortune's introductions 

 from China. It is a deciduous shrub (not 

 evergreen, as the books so frequently have 

 it), of low spreading growth, with short 

 leaves, which, except when young, are 

 nearly or quite devoid of hairs (L. Stan- 



Lonicera sempervirens. 



